Harry Potter and The HalfBlood Prince
by PhoenixFlight72
Summary: PostOotP.PermamentHiatus. Harry's summer will be an exciting one. He will gain much more power and develope a relationship that has always been under his nose. Another mystery will begin and it looks like its up to Harry Potter to save the day, again.
1. It Begins

**Chapter 1: It Begins**

It was a hot day in Surrey, England. Mostly every person who wasn't working was out enjoying the wonderful weather. One exception happens to be a raven black haired teenager with startling green eyes and a lighting bolt scar on his far head. There were many things that this boy, no man, did that many people hadn't even heard of. And most people were afraid of hearing.

The scariest thing of all this man has seen and learned, is that he is the only one alive who can vanquish Lord Voldemort. Muggles, non magic folk, had no idea who this was. Yet they have seen his handy work and that of his evil followers known as Death Eaters. The Dark Lord had caused so much pain and suffering that anyone who has heard of him flinch at the name and pail under his presence. All except two.

Harry James Potter sat on his bed in Number Four Privet Drive. He was reflected on everything that had happened in his life. Truth be told, he was having the best time he's ever had at his Aunt Petunia's and Uncle Vernon's house. They seemed very content to leave him be. The reason for that could be the fact that Harry was receiving special training from Mad Eye Moody, Remus Lupin, and Nymphadora Tonks. The four of them had been at it for about two months now; they started training around six in the morning and ended around six at night. Plus Harry was spending all his remaining time studying.

He didn't study because he wanted to learn more, he studied to busy himself. Whenever he was given a moment to think his mind would wonder to Sirius Black, his late godfather. Though everyone denied it, except for 'Snivellus', Harry still felt partial guilt that the death was his fault. When it came down to it, he was tricked and caused the death of an innocent and brave man. Harry had started to keep a list of all the victims in this new war. Every single name he would remember, for it was his job to stop this for good and the ones or bought him more time deserved his thanks and recognition once this was all over. And it would be over.

_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…_Don't go there, Harry forcefully reprimanded himself. Today was the day before his sixteenth birthday. He was given today and tomorrow off in honor of it. He had ended up boxing the better half of the day away with Dudley, who had become quite interested in helping Harry out after he was saved from the dementors.

Harry was doing so well in his studies that he was now able to take on all three mentors at the same time and hold his own. He had yet to win one of these matches but was able to hold them off for about an hour before the 'trainers' decided to call for help from other Order members and really turn the heat on. The last time this had happened, Harry had felt excitement to this challenge and was happy to take it on.

He had succeeded in taking out ten opponents and still had five to go when Albus Dumbledore himself arrived to help his side. A primal anger had filled Harry when he saw Dumbledore. He still was on the older man's side, but once Harry had realized how much Dumbledore had held out on him and treated him more like a tool than a person, Harry soon held a great dislike for the man.

Through his anger he had shot five stunners at the remaining Order members, one tried to dodge by jumping forward but was hit with a spell that sent him flying thirty feet backwards towards a hard landing. Two others had managed a protego shield, but the stunners went straight through them to hit the startled fighters. The last two were caught off guard by the way Harry Potter had somehow managed to make five stunners come out of his hand. It was then that Harry realized Dumbledore had managed to accio his wand when his surprise entrance came.

Harry than knew it was between him and the Headmaster. Without so much as a nod, Harry let instinct take over and started to throw every jinx, charm, and spell that he could think of. He added transfiguration to the onslaught and even conjured a sword to use for a more physical attack. Harry had registered that he was doing all this without a wand but didn't really mind, his wand after all didn't work against Voldemort.

What Dumbledore realized was that Harry had grown immensely in power and confidence. He was amazed at the boy's progress and to be honest slightly afraid of it. He also noticed that the sword in Harry's hand was supposed to be inside his office, Godric Gryffindor's sword.

His amazement cost him as he was forced into a corn of the yard. He tried to block and dodge as many spells as he could but they were continuing down at such an alarming rate that is was impossible to dodge them all. Recognizing this, he had started to forget about the pain from the curses and focus on the offensive. That was when he knew Harry still had much anger toward him for the life the Professor had decided to keep hidden and hide Harry from.

If he hadn't yet known that he would have once Harry surprised him by apperating right behind him and throwing a punch at Dumbledore. Harry followed the falling man down and grabbed his wand and Dumbledore's before the man hit the ground. Apperating back to his original position Harry finished adding ropes to every downed Order member, including Albus Dumbledore. "Do you yield?" Harry asked the downed group.

In response groans and moans were heard and Albus managed to get a, "Yes, Harry, we yield" out.

With a wave from his wand the ropes disappeared and the unconscious became conscious once again. Many sat disbelieving for a few moments before disapperating with a pop, presumably to Grimmuald Place to find a medic.

It was then that Harry let exhaustion claim him and he slumped back against the wall of Privet Drive. He definitely liked the fact that he could do magic and the area was protected from muggle eyes.

And that was how Harry had ended up today. Everyone felt confident in his ability and decided to make his schedule a little more free, and give him some more freedoms considering he could take on the majority of the Order and win. Dumbledore had a short talk with him when retrieving his wand and Harry had decided that today he would buy some good cloths.

And that was exactly the thing he did. He went to muggle London and bought everything that caught his eye and well as a few gifts for his friends. He had been getting letters from Ron, Hermione, and Ginny so much that Harry felt they deserved something in return. For their things Harry had walked to Diagon Alley in muggle cloths and a baseball cap. No one seemed to spare him a glance as he went about his business for the day. Happily, Harry noticed no Order member trailing him.

With these last few happy thoughts of his summer so far, Harry managed to fall asleep.

The next morning Harry awoke to the yelling of his name. He had just had a horrible dream of Sirius and Voldemort and already had an _expelliarmus_ shot from his wandless hand before he became aware of his surroundings.

"Sorry, Ron, didn't mean to hurt you mate," Harry apologized after finding out who he had just set flying into the wall.

"It's okay, Harry. He's been a bit of a prat lately so I really should be thanking you," and with that said Harry found himself being hugged by a small girl with flaming red hair. Realizing who it was, Harry immediately put his arms around her and hugged her back. It was then that he noticed how pretty Ginny Weasely had become. She still appeared to be short but was no longer just a girl. She looked to an angle like him and when he felt a small kiss on his cheek Harry couldn't help but blush and smile like an idiot.

"What are you smiling at you great buffoon!" Ron practically yelled. Apparently he was still smarting.

"Well, mate, your sister is beautiful and I am happy to say that it feels great to have her in my arms. Plus she looks like my mother and you look like an idiot who just got shot into the wall. Its really funny if you look at how we ended up this way." Harry knew he was pushing his buttons, but teasing Ron was always fun.

"Now you listen to me. I don't want to hear anyone, even you, talk about Ginny like that!"

It was Ginny's turn to speak and she did so indeed, "Well, dear brother. If Harry can't compliment me like a gentlemen than I will be forced to torture you." She turned her head away from Ron and winked at Harry. "You know, Ron, Harry feels really muscular and I can feel an eight pack through his shirt. You should think about working out, then maybe you and Hermione will finally start noticing each other a little more. I'm sure Harry wouldn't mind helping you out."

"Ginny, if I didn't know better I would believe you were cheating on Dean by flirting with me. After all, if you wanted to see my muscles of steal, I'd be happy to show you," Harry said with a cheeky grin.

"Now who is flirting, Harry? Besides, I never liked Dean, I just said that to get Ron mad on the train." For some reason, Harry felt very happy hearing this news.

"So what brings you both here to my 'wonderful' place of residence?" Harry asked his two friends while disentangling himself from Ginny and leaning back against the wall while still on his bed. He was still pretty tired considered that dream had felt like hell and left him feeling like hell in the morning.

"You do know it's your birthday, right mate? I mean it only comes once a year. Oh yeah, Hermione wants me to wish you a Happy 16th. She had to go on a trip to France with her parents. We brought presents and cake and my family should arrive along with Remus, Tonks, and Mad Eye later. But you look horrible, Harry, and its only seven. Go back to sleep for a little. We already sent the Dursleys away for the day so I'll go and set up. Just be down by twelve. Coming, Ginny?" Ron seemed much more talkative lately, maybe a side effect of the brains.

"Actually, I'm still a bit tired myself. I think I'll take a nap too," that said Ron left presumably to set up the house. "Mind if I use you as a pillow, Harry?"

Without waiting for an answer she came next to him and let her head fall on his shoulder. Harry was taken aback a bit by the way the morning was turning out, but he soon found himself asleep once more.

He awoke from a rare peaceful slumber to find a weight at his side. There was the youngest Weasely and she was sleeping lightly with an arm draped across Harry. Laughing softly, Harry gently woke her and told her the time, 11:15. He still needed to get ready and pull himself together.

Thirty minutes later, Harry Potter walked out of the bathroom feeling like someone truly himself for the first time in his life. Using a few charms, Harry had transformed himself. He had pierced his ear and put a Griffin earing in it. He had always given himself a haircut that made his hair look less like a dog's and more like he was confident. It also showed his scar which he actually didn't mind people seeing anymore. He had always changed into a black pair of jeans and a muggle t-shirt. He reveled in the feeling of being just Harry for a moment then headed down stairs.

What met his eyes kept Harry staring for a long while. Everyone you could see, inside and outside, the area was decorated for his birthday. It was amazing and the amount of attention and care Ron appeared to have taken in setting everything up seemed to make Harry appreciate his friend all the more. It was then that Ginny noticed him downstairs and seeing his dumbfounded look asked what was wrong.

Still in a stupor, Harry replied without thinking, "It's just I've never really had a birthday party before. Not even gifts 'till I met your family. I can't believe I'm actually about to have a party."

Ginny seemed taken aback by his answer, especially the way he made it all seem like it wasn't any big deal. She then reminded herself of Harry's childhood and grabbed Harry's hand to lead him outside. Ron was sitting at a table out back eating the snacks set out when the two joined them. They started talking of trivial things, like Quiditch and even a muggle film Mr. Weasely had gotten a hold of.

Harry's newly bought watch chimed twelve when all of a sudden there were several distinct pops. Harry was immediately out of his seat and had a hand out read to send five stunners loose if needed it be. Seeing that the new arrivals were just the rest of the Weaselys, minus Percy, and his three trusted trainers, Harry lowered his hand and smiled his first true smile in a long time.

After being hugged and passed around Harry and company got into the swing of things. The WWN was playing in the background and conversations grew all throughout the yard. After about three hours of chatting and playing foolish pranks and games, Ginny managed to drag Harry out onto an open area to dance to the WWN. She claimed all her brothers stunk and promised to teach Harry. They were actually making some progress when Fred and George decided to sneak up on them and send a few curses their way.

What the twins hadn't noticed was that Harry knew they were there the whole time and at just the right moment, Harry grabbed Ginny and threw her in to the air. At the same time he had erected a shield to absorb the curses and sent to of his own at the twins, wandlessly. They hit and the twins turned into pink hamsters! That was when the adults all turned to watch Ginny fall fast and scream at the upcoming ground.

She was stopped by Harry catching her and continuing the dance like nothing at all had happened. Everyone started to laugh and then the twins were turned back with a flick of Harry's wrist.

The next order of business was presents. This year there was a lot to open. The twins had given him a prototype of all their "in progress" pranks as well as a few they had made just for him. Mr. and Mrs. Weasely had given him a jumper and some newly made mince pies. Charlie had given Harry a set of dragon battle robes, apparently they were the **best **known battle robes out there and Charlie figured he could use it. Bill had gotten him a book all about Egyptian magic and certain ways to detect and then disable some of the nastier tricks the Egyptians had.

Remus, Tonks, and Mad Eye had together given him a personal journal they had made with their favorite battles tricks. Remus had promised he had left a few surprises from the Marauders. Ron had given him a photo album of all their friends from over the years, starting at 2nd Year. Ron told him most of the pictures had come from Colin and made sure that Harry knew there were many pages left empty for the last two years and then some. It happened to be a joint gift from him and Hermione. Hagrid had sent a school owl with his regular rock cakes, but this time he added a little something extra.

Hagrid had called it a mobile mirror. It seemed to work just like a cell phone except you call someone who has a similar mirror and they can talk to you threw it. A pained expression passed over Harry as he recognized the object was just like the one Sirius had given him, with the exception being the noticeable size reduction. He quickly put a mask on his face but not before Remus, Ginny, and Mrs. Weasely caught it. The note that came with the owl also said that Ron, Ginny, Hermione, and Remus would be able to talk to him by midnight. Only the person called would be able to hear you call their name yet after the connection is made, anyone can talk through the link.

The last gift was from Ginny. She gave him a small parcel that was lumpy. When he opened it, he found a lighting shaped gem hanging on a shining chain. "I was able to use some of the money Sirius left us to get that," she started to explain. "It's a talisman that's supposed to protect you from curses. It only blocks weaker ones, but if the person who gave the talisman put in their love and heart into making it, it supposedly will reduce the affect of **any** curse. Even the forgivables. Oh I almost forgot, that's a white gold chain it's on and will never rust or get dirty."

By the time she was finished, Ginny was blushing slightly but looked relieved when Harry gave her a quick hug said, "Thanks, Gin."


	2. So it Continues

I would like everyone to know that I changed my penname. It was originally SiriusStaff7, now it is PhoenixFlight72.

**Chapter 2: So it Continues**

The day after Harry's birthday brought with it a bundle of surprises. For one, Harry was now in charge of his own training. Another was that he could talk to his friends whenever he wanted. At first Harry was surprised by finding out he could train on his own, then he realized that he surpassed all his mentors, with the exception of Dumbledore perhaps.

This realization made Harry go back to the reason he had come so far. The reason of course had to do with Voldemort.

_Flashback: It was the third day after term ended. Harry was once again stuck in the Dursley's home and he was wallowing in depression. The loss of his godfather, his last parental figure, had hit him hard. The fact that he was partially responsible did nothing to raise his emotions. _

_Harry wasn't stupid. He knew Voldemort manipulated him and in doing so had been responsible as well. Then there was Bellatrix who had caused the actual death. He also couldn't dismiss the fact that it was Sirius who came of his own free will to do battle that he died. Yet the fact remained that because of Voldemort's ideals and plans, all the people he loved died. _

_It was then that Harry knew he wouldn't wish this on any other person. Sure it would have been nice to live a normal life, but to wish someone else to go through so much pain wasn't fair. He would do what needed to be done and he would make sure that no one else he cared for died. He would no longer drown in self pity, there would be time after the war to mourn, but instead he would train to kill the monster that took away so much in his life. _

_Harry got up and started to write a letter to the Order of the Phoenix._

_Dear Fawkes,_

_I was wondering if you could help me learn some new tricks. I had always loved my father's ability to transform and was envious of his career choice. I was hoping you could educate me in the arts of your fan club; after all he was apart of that club._

_Please let me know ASAP and I will be able to let you know of a time when my family is available._

_Sincerely, A Werewolf's Friend_

_After sending his cryptic letter away with Hedwig, Harry had laid back down on his bed. He tried to clear his mind of all emotion, yet the day's determination had stayed with him. He just couldn't shake the determination to not let another loved one die and the hatred he felt at Lord Voldemort for making taking so many good lives. _

_After minutes of trying, Harry Potter fell into darkness…_

"_Where am I?" thought Harry and he awoke. He seemed to be inside a gray room. The only exception being that it wasn't a room at all, more of like an endless void of gray. For some reason he could hear his own thoughts yet could not speak. _

_"At least I'm not in Voldemort's head," just as he said it, Harry felt different. He blinked and noticed that he was sitting in a throne like chair, with a small balding man that had a silver hand kneeling in front of him. He also realized that he was much paler in the dark light and held a longer wand. That's when Harry figured out he wasn't in his own head._

_"I don't want to stay in his head. Let me go back to the gray void!" Harry desperately thought to himself. And instantaneously he was there. Once again in the endless gray Harry began to wonder what going on. He wasn't so much as frightened as curious. "Might as well experiment."_

_"Umm, I wish I knew all Voldemort knew," Harry thought. This time the sound was heard in the gray, not just in his mind. To make matters even more interesting a list had appeared in the void. It seemed to hang in the thin air and had categories such as Life and Death, Immortality, Shields, Defense Formation, Attack Formation, Curses, Jinxes, Spells, Charms, Transfiguration, Occlumency/Legimency, Hand to Hand Combat, Weapons Handling, and Magical Animals. _

_Thinking to himself, what the in the name of bloody Merlin, Harry decided to try and touch a category. He started with shields. _

_Once his hand made contact with the mysterious writing, Harry felt himself becoming suffocated. The interesting thing was that he was being suffocated with knowledge. After what seemed like eternity to Harry, the feeling stopped and he the category labeled Shields, disappeared. _

_A feeling of power suddenly filled Harry and he felt the urge to try to do a shield. He surprised himself when he raised his wand and did a complex movement creating a golden shield in his hand. Trying this many times Harry soon understood what was happening. He was literally **in** Voldemort's mind. He was privy to whatever information resided in it. _

_Apparently his subconscious had chosen what areas he wanted to know the most about and had dragged that information to him in the void. Harry now knew all the information on shields that his nemesis knew. "Now this can be fun." _

_Harry instantly started to feel the rush of information as he touched another category, this time Curses. When it was done he tried a curse that made something disappear from one area and reappear in another. Taking a galleon from his pocket he placed it on the floor and performed the curse. After noticing the coin went to the other side of the floating words Harry acciod it back to him. "This is definitely going to be fun!" _

_Harry performed the same system of touching a category, trying out some new knowledge, then moving on to a different category until everything there was done. The only thing Harry had not touched was Life and Death. In a way he was afraid of what knowledge was held there. "Better leave now before I wish I had left earlier," with that thought Harry tried his newly acquired Occlumency skills and willed his mind back to his own. _

_Waking up in his own bed, Harry was startled to see Remus there looking down at his in concern. Behind him Harry could see Nymphadora Tonks, and Alastar "Mad Eye" Moody. _

"_We came here after getting your letter, Harry. I must say that it wasn't easy to understand what you were saying," Remus started. _

_Harry just smiled. "That is the point in a letter that you don't want to be intercepted and understood. Isn't it Mad Eye?"_

"_That's right, CONSTANT VIGILANCE! Now, if what we're led to believe, you want the Order to train you. That's what you meant, wasn't it? It better be 'cause that took us a dammed long time to figure out."_

"_Well, it may have taken you guys a while but that was the point of the letter. Yet I think I have a surprise that will make your job a lot easier," Harry felt like drawing this out as long as possible. He wasn't looking forward to telling them he had learned knowledge beyond a many's comprehension from the darkest of dark wizards. And that was leaving out the fact that some of the things learned would likely not be found in the Restricted Section in the Hogwarts Library. _

"_Now, Harry, what in the world are you talking about? First you owl asking to be trained for battle, then you claim that you can make that easy. Please tell us what that might be, considering that you still can't even do magic during the summer," Tonks didn't seem to like the idea so far. _

"_Well you might not understand so just let me finish. I learned a few, tricks, last night. Actually, more than a few. I basically learned all of Voldemort's knowledge in Immortality, Shields, Defense Formation, Attack Formation, Curses, Jinxes, Spells, Charms, Transfiguration, Occlumency/Legimency, Hand to Hand Combat, Weapons Handling, and Magical Animals." _

_Remus started to interrupt but with raising a hand Harry was able to silence him. "I know it sounds crazy Remus, I thought so too once I found out was I was doing. The bottom line is that last night I was able to gain access to Voldemort's mind and just sort of pick what I wanted to learn. After I got to the Occlumency I realized it was a variation of Legimency. I guessed that the connection we share as a result of my scar let me enhance the Legimency to literally be in his mind in a physical form. It's really complicated, just know that now I banish all your carcasses to Hogsmead and keep you there."_

_Tonks looked disbelieving. "If that's the truth, which no offense seems far fetched, than we still have the problem of you not being able to do magic still."_

_Harry once again smiled in response, "I forgot to mention one of the spells Voldemort knew was how to hide your magical signature from detectors-"_

"_Which is the way the Ministry knows about underage magic," Remus finished. "Brilliant, do it now Harry just so we can be sure it works."_

_Taking his wand from under his pillow in a quick draw, Harry waved it in a circle above himself and muttered "Hidium Macigratelum." He seemed to glow a light blue until the color faded. After waiting ten minutes and no interference from a Ministry owl, the three adults held stunned and awed looks on their faces. _

_Remus was the first to recover. "If what you said earlier is true, than what would we even help you with?"_

_Harry had thought about this a bit while in the void and already had an answer. "There was one problem with the information transfer. I never learned how to incorporate all this stuff in a duel. There's just so many different options, how do I make them flow and work together? Besides, I only learned what Voldemort knows. That won't help me too much because he would know how to counter anything I throw. You guys could teach me some of the things you know and help me learn to use all this new stuff I know in an actual fight." _

_There seemed to be a pleading sound in Harry's voice. No one had the heart, or the right for that matter, to turn him down. _

_"Of course we'll help you Harry, but I think we'd need to pick up a few things first," Tonks seemed almost eager to go shopping._

_"I think your right, Tonks," Mad Eye agreed, "but we would need to take Harry with us. Personally, I don't have a problem with bringing you with us, Harry, but the rest of the Order might."_

_"If you want to keep your new ability to yourself than there isn't really a problem. Otherwise we would need to come up with some way for you to buy what's needed without being noticed by anyone but the necessary," Remus finished. _

_"I can take care of that. I guess we're off to a day in Diagon Alley!" _

_"Hold up, Harry, we still need to tell Dumbledore," Tonks said. Remus was too busy chuckling at Harry's enthusiasm to make a comment. _

_"That won't be a problem. He's supposed to be at headquarters right now, I'll just apperate over and let him know," Mad Eye was just about to do as he suggested when Harry interrupted._

_"Actually, could I go? One of the things I learned was how to apperate and I think I could make it to Grimmuald Place."_

_"Fine, but you better get ready first. We'd be heading straight to Diagon Alley after we inform Dumbledore," Remus informed Harry. _

_"Plus you'd have a lot of explaining to do. You know how he is with your protection," Tonks added. _

_"My protection will no longer be his concern once you three get finished training me. Besides, with you guys there plus what I learned last night, I'll be perfectly fine. I'll just give you all the pleasure of explaining to him later," Harry replied. _

_"Get ready, Harry, and we'll just let Albus no you're going out with us today," Remus offered. _

_With a hurried thank you, Harry Potter ran to the bathroom to get ready. _

_"Alastar went ahead to tell Albus, Tonks is waiting downstairs trying to make you some cloths, and I took the liberty to wait here and tell you what the other two were doing," Remus finished with a smile. _

_"Thanks, Remus. I need to be ready and your training will only make me be ready quicker. But what I don't get is why we're going to Diagon Alley," Harry finished purposefully. _

_"Well, there are a few reasons actually. One is that Sirius left about 30 of his money to you in his will. He also said that in the even of his unfortunate demise, you are to become a legal adult. That means that you can now visit the Potter Family Vault. I was only in the once, but I remember James telling me about all of these old family heirlooms that were always made for 'the better of man kind'. We also need to buy you some battle robes, new dress robes, probably another wand, and I would like to make those glasses of yours disappear."_

_"Okay, not too much to do. Let's get out of here then. Tell Tonks thanks for the toast," Harry added with a mischievous wink._

_Just as Remus was about to ask what he meant, Harry said calmly, "Accio toast." The toast Tonks was in the middle of preparing came flying up the stairs and into Harry's hand. "See you at Gringotts." With that said, a small pop was heard and Harry Potter no longer stood in front of Remus Lupin, but instead stood staring up at the staircase in the wizarding bank. _

_After waiting thirty seconds, two more pops were heard followed closely by a third. _

_"About time you got here. I've been waiting." Smiling cheekily Harry started leading the way into Gringotts. He was currently dressed in a pair of black jeans with a plain blue t-shirt. The both were the right size and seemed to fit Harry perfectly. Catching the appraising look Moody was giving him Harry told them, "I used magic. I took Dudley's old garbage and transfigured it into this. You look like it's never been done before."_

_"Potter, you need to be discreet still. Let me see you conjure a cloak with a nice long hood," Moody said. _

_"I have a better idea," Harry replied. Taking wand in hand, he made a complex movement and the next thing everyone knew, an emerald green baseball cap was sitting atop Harry's head. "I can't make any fancy stuff for the clothes or hat, but I can make the shape. That's why there's no writing or shapes on the shirt and hat. Now come on, I want to go visit my family vault."_

_Once the group arrived in front of a goblin and told them they had business to attend to in the Potter Family Vault, the goblin immediately tried to act better. "I am sorry for being rude Mr. Potter. If you wish to visit your Family Vault we will acquire a cart right away." That said and done, the goblin rushed off to find a free goblin for the cart ride down. _

_The three wizards and single witch soon found themselves traveling down the inside of the earth. They were going deeper than any of them had ever gone before when Harry let curiosity get the better of him a ask, "Excuse me, but why did the goblin at the desk treat me so kindly once he found out I was visiting my family vault?"_

_"Ah, the Potters were some of our best costumers. They have been around for the longest of times and own a great deal of wealth. If the Potter Family Vault were to empty itself from Gringotts we would lose a great asset." The driver said no more as the cart continued. After nearly five minutes the cart slowed down and finally came to a stop. "Vault #1072, sir. If you would please put your hand on the circle in the middle of the door. You will feel a brief sting and then the door should open if you are a true descendent."_

_Stepping forward, Harry put his hand on the indicated circle on the vault door. His fingers were exactly the right size to meet the edge of the circle and he felt a small sting. The next moment, the door whizzed open and Harry was left gaping. The vault was huge! What looked like millions upon millions of galleons were heaped all over. In the right hand corner of the vault, weapons could be found lining the wall. They were of all shapes and sizes, each engraved with a name upon it of the wielder. Farther inspection of the room showed a corner filled with jewelry of the highest quality. Harry could also find books that appeared to be older than Gringotts was. _

_With all these amazing items, Harry had failed to notice what the other three were doing. Tonks was admiring a section that seemed to be filled with the highest quality of robes, Remus was looking at a section filled with chests and labels, while Mad Eye was staring intently at one box sitting on a stool in the middle of the room. _

_Tonks was the first to speak, "Guys, I don't think we need to spend any money today. This vault has everything Harry needs. There are about five different battle robes, all which say they will fit the wearer. There're also dress robes and a hundred silky Hogwarts robes."_

_"Harry, I think you should have a look in these chests. The labels say they have some magical items in here that are very hard to find now a days," Remus added. _

_"Harry, if you don't mind, I would like to give some orders so we're not here all day. Remus, I want you to pick up a set of every type of weapon here. Tonks, get the robes you think Harry will need, including every battle robe, and a few fun ones. Harry, I think you better look at this box. There's a note on top and I can't look through it. That has never happened where I can't see through something and it must be either very important, or very magical. I have a feeling you'll need it."_

_"Yes, Professor," Harry joked, showing he was okay with what Harry had said. Tonks and Remus immediately went to work on their assignments and Harry headed over to the box. On it was a letter. Picking it up, Harry realized it was addressed to him, by his parents. _

_Dearest Harry,_

_If you are reading this than it means we were unable to show you the contents of this chest ourselves. Albus has told us the prophecy and we know you can, will, win._

_Inside we compiled three items that we believe will help you in your struggle. The first is a wand. It was made from yew a dragon heartstring. Trust us, it is an extremely powerful wand and has served well in the past._

_The second is talisman. We happen to know some friends who have lived in Egypt for a long time and one time they had found a talisman. We have given it a test run in a few battles and it works as well as could be expected. It can negate minor spells and weaken more powerful ones. We haven't tried it on the killing curse and we don't plan to, yet we know it reduces the pain of crucio to a more manageable level though not by much._

_The last item is an old Potter heirloom that we decided to tweak a bit. It is a wristwatch that can tell the time, act as a portkey (all you have to do is speak you destination to it), and can tell you the whereabouts of the people you hold dear. _

_Remember, son, we love you now and we will love you forever. We'll be waiting for you on the other side, but we don't want to see you for many, many years. Remember, we have faith and faith is all you need. _

_Love, Mom and Dad_

_After returning to Privet Drive, the adults decided to call it a day. They promised they would be back tomorrow and left him with a schedule they had come up with for his training. Harry paid little attention, his mind still on the letter his parents had left him. Remus had brought back a chest full of old books along with another of family heirlooms. Moody had brought back a trunk filled with all the weapons they'd be practicing with and gave Harry two wand holsters to try on in different places. He ended up keeping his holly wand in a leg holster on his left foot while the newly acquired dragon heartstring rested in an arm holster on his right. _

_Tonks had thrown out his whole wardrobe and hung up his new ones. The battle robes she was very careful with. She said they were something extremely special. They seemed to be lightweight and could be worn under any other robe. One pair even fit over muggle clothing with a note on it saying it could 'blend in'. Harry promised himself to wear one every day and get the feel for them, after all you'd never know when you'd get in a fight. _

_The talisman was currently around his neck and the watch was on his left wrist. Having nothing better to do, Harry read over his schedule._

_6-6:30 Wake up, eat, shower_

_6:30-7:30 Warm up_

_7:30-11:00 Train_

_11-12 Eat, shower, rest_

_12-6 Duel_

_ The schedule can and probably will change, so just count on waking up at six every day Tonks… _

"_This will be a long year," Harry muttered to himself._

**End Flashback**

Author Notes:

I would like to thank voxenking for being the first reviewer. As you can see, I take reviews seriously and I will be glad to receive any advice or compliments you give.


	3. Some Surprises, Some Anger

I real that I gave Harry two watches. That was a mistake. I meant to put that the Weaselys had given him a new jumper and some pies.

**Chapter 3: Some Surprises, Some Anger**

If Harry was honest with himself, his summer had so far been a long one. The first couple of days being slow, the next few days fast, and the rest of the two months were just plain tiring. The most peaceful time Harry had was on his birthday. More specifically, the point where he had woken up and found Ginny dozing on his shoulder. It was then that Harry knew that with all his money and all his powers, he was still missing something.

He knew what it was that he was missing. But he was afraid of getting it. All Harry wanted was companionship; someone to call a girlfriend or an adult to call a parent. He was smart to know when enough parents were enough, and he settled to be just good friends with people he could have grown onto, like the Weaselys or Remus or even Tonks. In the other department, well Harry just didn't want anyone to get hurt; especially someone that he could care about so much. Besides, he hasn't felt that way about a girl since Cho Chang and he was definitely over her.

"You know what, I think it's time to show my friends exactly what I can do now," Harry thought to himself. Truth be told, he had just seen them to days ago at his party, today being August 2, yet Harry had picked up some things for them and he felt he wanted a break. He had actually been bored yesterday without his regular training and had already integrated all of Moody and Tonk's favorite curses into his dual. Their book had held many things that he hadn't learned from his excursion into Voldemort's head and he felt like they would come in very helpful.

He had only flipped through the book Remus had given him, a complete copy of the entire Marauders' adventures, including how to become an animagus. Harry figured he would tackle that later in the week, for now he felt like having some fun. With his mind made up, Harry went to take a shower. He was done in five minutes looking clean shaven and without glasses. Remus had finally found a potion to correct eyesight and Harry had taken it the other day.

Darning his white battle robes (after some trial and error, Harry had learned they were the best he had; they even surpassed the ones Charlie had given him), Harry then pulled a dark green silk robe out of his closet and put it on. He also put on his emerald green baseball cap he had configured at the start of summer and had both wands in their holsters. Of course, the wands weren't really needed that much, just for the newer things he learned, they still gave him a level of comfort and added to his image. The watch his parents had left him was residing on his left wrist, where he hadn't taken it off from once. He had outfitted it with every protection charm he could think of and had added a few names to tell Harry the condition of his 'family'.

Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Remus, and Tonks were all pointing to home at the moment. The other slots were 'Danger', 'Mortal Peril', 'Traveling', and 'Safe'. Mad Eye was offered a position but had declined saying that he didn't think it safe and could mess up Order plans.

The other object Harry had on was his talisman. Actually, he was wearing two talismans. One had been given to him by Ginny and the other left by his parents. They had been tested and had worked like a charm. Harry also wore a diamond stud earring. It shone no matter what angle and was taken from his family vault. He now looked like an imposing figure at 5'8, being outfitted for battle.

"Hey, now if I get stuck in the paper again, maybe they could at least get a picture of me looking like this." With that last thought Harry apperated to the Burrow.

Ginerva Weasely was sitting at the breakfast table. It was seven o'clock and she was still in her pajama bottoms and tank top. Her haired was pulled up in a pony tail and she was waiting for her mom to finish cooking the breakfast.

Ron was sitting next to her, staring off into space. "He's probably thinking about Hermione right now," Ginny thought. Hermione was her best girl friend and like a sister to her brother and Harry. She was supposed to be coming today to stay the rest of the summer. Being related to Ron so long, Ginny knew that Ron was hiding something whenever around he was around Hermione, and Ginny thought she knew what it was.

The rest of her family was at the table too, Bill, Charlie, her mom and dad, Fred and George, even Percy. No one was fully awake yet and it was a miracle they were all up now as it was. That's why when a POP came from outside everyone jumped out of their seats. Mr. and Mrs. Weasely along with Bill and Charlie rushed outside to see what was going on. Fred and George took up defense positions by the door and Percy had floo powder in hand waiting to see if he needed to get help from the Order.

When no sounds of a battle came, the rest of the family in the house went out to see what the commotion was. What they saw was not what they expected to see.

Harry appeared on the front lawn of the Burrow. After about two seconds people started rushing out of the house. Once they got close enough Harry could tell who they were. Bill, Charlie, Mr. and Mrs. Weasely were all bearing down on him with wands drawn.

Seeing their unease, Harry lifted his baseball cap and exposed his face. Mrs. Weasely stood there stunned while Mr. Weasely had lowered his wand and had a smile plastered on his face. Bill and Charlie both looked dumfounded and held their wands at ease. None of the expressions came close though, to what happened when the rest of the family arrived.

The twins were the first ones out and once they caught sight of his face adopted a look much similar to Bill and Charlie. Percy looked scared to see him there and Ron looked on with awe. Ginny had Harry's favorite reaction. As soon as she recognized him she came running forward throwing her arms around him. "Harry!" could be heard from miles away.

"Now this is a good reaction," Harry joked. "Not like the rest of you who just stood there, but a nice big hug and a kiss on the cheek. Makes a man feel welcome, you know?"

Ron was the first to speak, "Harry, mate, how did you…get past the…how-"

Harry laughed. "How did I get pasted the antiapperation wards you mean? Or were you going to ask how I apperated in the first place?"

The twins replied, at the same time, "Both!"

Once again Harry got a good laugh. "Well, let's just say I've been busy lately and this summer has been filled so far. As for apperating where you can't, I helped construct the wards earlier in the summer. It was Remus's idea in order to see if they actually worked and I can recognize my own work for me to by pass it."

After releasing Harry from her hug, Ginny finally took a good luck at him. He seemed much taller than the train ride and had cleaned himself up a bit since his party. His scar shone on his forehead and he had a beautiful diamond in his ear. After two days, Ginny could see a difference. Also his robes look very fine on him and with the way he was carrying himself, he looked an imposing figure. The fact that he had two wands strapped on didn't deter the notion.

Molly quickly recovered from her shock and pulled Harry into a hug. "How are you, dear?" Before he could answer she pulled away and stuck a finger in his face. "If you ever scare us or do something like that again I will treat you like Fred and George!"

Harry simply smiled, "You mean something like this?" He then apperated right behind Mrs. Weasely in order to shake hands with the other men on the household. When he reached Mr. Weasely Harry asked, "I take it you forgot to mention I could apperate?"

"Ah, but it wasn't my secret to tell. Besides, Harry, don't tell me you didn't enjoy the stunned faces you saw."

"I enjoyed it all right, but you guys missed one thing when coming out here. Fred, you could be seen through the window. Next time you need to move a little to your right."

Fred didn't look to agitated at this news and simply shrugged it off. That was when Ginny realized Harry wasn't wearing glasses. "Harry, what happened to your glasses? I just noticed you didn't have them on."

"Ginny, Ginny, Ginny, didn't Snape teach you anything in Potions? Remus was able to get me a potion to repair and then enhance my eyesight. I took it yesterday and it's awesome!" After the younger crowd had a good laugh at Snape's expense, the elder Weasely men had to leave to go get Hermione.

"Wait, dad!" Ginny yelled right before they left. "Can we go into town today while you pick up Hermione? We'll promise to be good."

_Boy, Ginny can look so adorable when she puts on a pout face. _ Harry thought before shaking his head to clear it.

After getting the go ahead from Mr. Weasely, Ginny ran back upstairs to get ready. Ron was already dressed and so he and Harry talked to the twins and Molly for a few minutes. Mrs. Weasely forced Fred and George to go them into town and act as a guard. Soon after that was decided Ginny came back outside. What Harry saw took his breath away.

Ginny was wearing a muggle t-shirt that said Surf Babe on it and a pair of form fitting jeans. Her hair was done up in a bun held up by her wand. To him, she looked stunning.

After saying goodbye to over protective mother, the teenagers set out to town. They spent a great deal of time talking about trivial matters. Quiditch, games, adventures they'd had, pranks that were pulled; all things stayed away from Voldemort. After stopping at the ice cream store the group decided to take a break.

Harry had paid and they say down when Ron tripped and bumped into Ginny who dropped her ice cream all over the floor. The twins and Harry were laughing until the received glares from the two youngest Weaselys. "Here, Gin, you can have mine. I wasn't hungry anyway," Harry managed to get out between laughs.

"Why thank you, Harry. For that I will repay you with a kiss. If one of my duffases of a brother would have offered I would have given them two, but you're just naturally nice." Ginny kept good to her word and Harry traded and ice cream for a peck on lips. He was surprised considering she, like Hermione, had always kissed him on the cheek. However, just because he was surprised didn't mean he didn't like it.

That was when several loud cracks were heard in front of them.

Harry was immediately in action. He upended the table with his left hand and forced the other four behind it with his right. He then proceeded to jump over the table and start yelling curses.

From their vantage point, the four Weaselys could see about twenty Death Eaters charging toward Harry. Fred and George were just about to get up and help when Harry shouted, "Stay down and let me handle it!" He then went on to amaze them.

Drawing his dragon wand in his left hand, and conjuring the sword of Gryffindor in the other, Harry starting attacking the enemy. He shot a stunning spell at one Death Eater who put up a shield. Unfortunately for him, Harry's spell shot right threw it and knocked him out. At the same time Harry had used his sword to cut off another opponent's wand hand. He would live, though he was out of the fight. Turning quickly, Harry shot a blinding spell at the group of oncoming black. In the five seconds that spell had awarded him, Harry had sent a fire spell at one Death Eater, a stunning spell at another, a boil curse at other, and cut the legs from one unlucky man.

"Wow, you are pathetic! In ten seconds a child has already taken down six of your number. Why don't you just try and come a get me?"

Ginny was awed beyond explanation, "Ron, did he just take down six Death Eaters and then mock fourteen more?" The only answer was a nod from Ron, who seemed incapable of speech.

Flinging off his robes, Harry exposed his battle uniform. He seemed to shine from the light of the sun beating off his white robes. That was until he seemed to radiate just power.

The Death Eaters wasted no time taking Harry's challenge. They started shooting every curse they knew. Many unforgivables were heard along with many cutting curses. Harry seemed to be doing the same, and fairing better. It wasn't too long before only nine Death Eaters remained. The only problem was that these were more skilled and Harry was beginning to tire.

Finally a cutting curse hit Harry's right arm. Normally it would have caused his arm to become amputated, yet his talisman and battle robes and took the brunt of the curse. There was still a nice long cut on his arm rendering his sword movements pretty much useless. With a flick of his wrist, the sword disappeared.

"HALT!" screamed a women's voice, a women's voice that Harry hated so dearly. "So baby Potter has learned to duel. It doesn't matter little Harry, your godfather and parents knew how to duel as well. Look where they are, dead! Now here is your chance to join the Dark Lord. Join or die, Potter. That is your choice." Bellatrix Lestrange was still a sinister women, and hatred that Harry hadn't even come close to when seeing Dumbledore, rose when hearing this vile creature talk about his parents.

"Here is my answer, Bellatrix," Harry spat out the name. "Digratetatem!" A purple spell shot out of his left wand. It struck Lestrange in the chest and burned a whole right threw. Before her body had a chance to fall to the ground Harry had brought his right hand up and shot five stunners at the remaining eight. Only three Death Eaters remained and before they could even think about apperating away, were shot down by stunners. Harry finished the job by sending ropes at the twenty fallen Death Eaters and stunning those still conscious.

Right as he was finishing up there were several more distinct sounds of people apperating. After a quick turn realization dawned on Harry as he recognized the group or ten as members of the Order of the Phoenix.

"Well, it was nice of you to show up today guys. I was actually bored today so I paid a visit. Basically, Bellatrix led nineteen others to try and turn me. Only got a scratch but all twenty are downed and roped. I'd appreciate it if you could take them to Azkaban, but I would like their wounds to stay as they are. If they break out they will think again about attacking the light."

"Harry doesn't look too happy with the Order right now, does he?" Ron asked.

"Well, Ron, let's look at it this way. He came over to have fun and ended up fighting twenty Death Eaters while the Order shows up after the fighting. Would you be happy?" Ginny snapped back.

Dumbledore was the first to speak to Harry, "Excellent job, Harry. I believe you should get your arm looked at though and I am a sorry we arrived so late. However, I must reprimand you for using such brutal force. Was it necessary to do some of the things done?"

Harry snorted in disbelief. Here he was saving his and his friends asses when Dumbledore says he should have been nicer with a twenty against five fight. "With all do respect, Headmaster, I acted out of self defense. I heard many killing curses and quite a few crucios. What I don't understand is why you are saying I was mean to twenty people who just tried to kill five teenagers. All of them are alive, but they needed to be taught a lesson. If you had gotten here sooner than things could have proceeded your way."

"Harry, what did you hit Lestrange with?" Remus asked from a crouched position. He was leaning over Bellatrix with an unreadable look on his face.

"A disintegration charm, why?"

"Harry, that charm went right through her chest. It ruined her lungs and ended up killing her. An _avada _couldn't have done worse." As Remus replied, Harry hung his head and walked over to the upturned table.

He lifted it and simply said, "Let's get back guys. Your mom is probably have kittens and they need to sort this out." Harry called his cloak back to him and looked at his handy work. Bellatrix was the only death, and in a way, Harry was gratefully she was the only one.

As they past Remus in the street Harry spoke, "Do you really think it makes the world a worse place if she's dead? She had killed for fun, tortured for a living, and worshipped Voldemort more than any other. If she is dead than a message was sent. We are no longer playing, and he will no longer be winning this war."

They continued the walk back to the Burrow, yet Ginny could tell that Harry's eyes held doubt in them. Slipping her hand into his, Ginny tried to comfort him. "You know something, Harry? It's called 'if you're not going to take your own advice, don't give it'. What you said to Professor Lupin was true. You sent a legal spell at her and she died. But that's not it. You were not only defending yourself, you also saved us and countless others that she would have gotten. Not to mention the other lackeys you caught back there. You did what needed to be done and because of it, the world is slightly better off. Even if you refuse to be proud of yourself for your accomplishment down there, I will always look back at those few minutes with awe and hope that someday I can do what you did down there; what you did with a pure heart." She finished by kissing him on cheek.

After Ginny's words, Harry seemed to change. He no longer hung his head but held it high. He looked stronger and more confident than ever and had a slight spring to his step that Ginny couldn't be sure if it was because of the battle or not. Still walking hand in hand with Harry, Ginny started towards the front of her home. "This might take some explaining to do," Ginny muttered earning a few chuckles from the group.

Taking a deep breath, Ginny walked through the door pulling Harry along with her. The three brothers followed right after and then they all braced themselves for the real trouble, Molly Weasely.


	4. Revelations

**Chapter 4: Revelations of All Kinds**

The talk with Mrs. Weasely was a long one. At first she demanded to know what happened. Then she wanted to know why none of her children had helped Harry. She had also berated Harry for doing something so dangerous and couldn't believe that he had dispensed of twenty Death Eaters before a single Order member arrived.

She also yelled at Harry saying how disappointed in him she was for killing someone. That seemed to be the last straw. The teens were calmly answering all her questions and explaining what had happened. They were polite and to the point. Yet when Mrs. Weasely screamed at Harry for killing Bellatrix Lestrange, that was the last straw.

Ginny couldn't tell what was worth, hearing her mother say that to Harry or watching Harry nod like he had gone through his whole life being blamed for something that was beyond his control. That was when Ginny remembered that's how his life had been life for the first ten years and then every summer.

"Mom! You have no right to say that to Harry. You weren't there! Twenty Death Eaters were trying to kill us, or should I say him because he made us take cover and hide. Twenty, mom, against one! They were shouting the killing curse and the pain curse so many times it was impossible to keep track. Harry had managed to take down eleven before Bellatrix told him to either join Voldemort or die. They threatened to kill him and they _tried_ to kill him! He acted out of self defense and only, ONLY, killed Lestrange. She was a horrible person, mum. She had killed and tortured so many, hurting more in her wake. Yet she still would be doing it if Harry hadn't stopped her." Ginny screamed at her mother trying to knock some sense into her.

"He didn't even use the killing curse, mom," Ron continued. "He used a disintegration curse on her. She had a chance to block it, but she didn't. After Harry had finished getting the rest of them, the Order shows up. This is what Dumbledore said to Harry, 'Excellent, Harry. But did you need to use such brutality?' I mean come on, mum. It wasn't his fault and he did his best to protect us. And guess what, he won!"

Before Mrs. Weasely could formulate a response, there was a knock on the door and Hermione rushed in followed by the rest of the Weasely clan. "Oh, we just found out! Are you guys okay? How did you get twenty of them? What happened?"

There were so many questions that they just ended up retelling the tail once again. Thankfully, it was done mostly by Ron and the twins. Harry was just tired and wanted to rest. By the time they finished Harry was ready to excuse himself.

He was stopped by Hermione asking one question, one that no one had really thought of, "Where did the sword come from though? I mean, if it really was Godric Gryffindor's than it should be in the Headmaster's office. You can't just call and banish something like that at Hogwarts."

Knowing the question was meant for him Harry answered in a tired voice. "For off, anything is possible. Second, it's a really long story and I'll tell it to you tomorrow. Right now I'm out it, though, and would like some rest. Mrs. Weasely, do you mind if I stay here tonight, I'm too exhausted to apperate?"

"Of course, dear. Ginny, would you mind helping him get settled?" Molly answered.

Getting up from her chair next to Harry's Ginny started to lead him up the stairs. Suddenly he lost balance and started to fall, landing hard on the stair in front of him. "Harry, oh my gosh, are you okay?"

Coming over to help lift Harry up, Bill felt something hot under his hand. His hand currently on Harry's chest pushing him to a standing position. "Did you have on that talisman today, Harry?"

"I always have them on," Harry replied. At their puzzled looks from the word them Harry tried to elaborate, "My parents had left me a talisman as well in my family vault. I had that and Ginny's on now. Why does it matter?"

"Harry, talismans protect you and reduce the effects of curses. Using one is tiring, two is near impossible to use and still do magic at the level you used. During the fight they became a part of you and your overall energy, but now that you're not using your magic, they're replenishing their energies by drawing on yours. You'll really need to rest and it would help if Ginny were near the one she made because it will reduce the strain on you." It seemed complicated, but the way Bill said it, it did make sense.

"Come on, Harry. Let's get you to my room. It's closer and has enough room for two," Ginny said. As she and Bill helped Harry to the room they realized how much the battle had taken from him.

His robes were torn and his arm bloody from the cutting curse. He could barely stand on his own. Finally they reached Ginny's room. Once there, they got Harry's torn cloak off and then went to remove his battle robes. When the battle robes were off, it was all the two siblings could do from crying out at the site before them.

Harry's chest had two marks on it, one a lightening bolt and the other a spike. It looked like the talisman's had branded him. Oh, Harry is just going to love his two new scars when he wakes up.

Lying him down on the bed, Ginny checked his pockets. Hitting something she pulled out three shrunken items. "Hey, Bill, could you change these back to their regular sizes for me?"

Doing as his sister requested, Bill enlarged the items. One was a beautiful ruby necklace. It had small rubies on a white gold chain making a circle. Hanging down from the front was a bigger ruby with a white gold engraving of a griffin on it. It was absolutely stunning, and it must have expensive.

Turning to the next item, Ginny read the title of a book called "Magic in All Shapes, Forms, and Sizes". Looking closer Ginny read a publish date of 1543. _Wonder where he got this, _she couldn't help but think. It isn't every day someone walks around with a book in their pocket.

The last thing pulled from the pocket was an ornate dagger. It seemed to shine and reflect whatever light hit it. It had a beautiful carving in the blade and the handle felt so smooth. "Why didn't he use this is the fight, it would've been great?" Ginny muttered.

Bill had obviously heard her, "Because, little sis, that dagger looks like a throwing dagger. Meant for one purpose, to kill. It seems Harry is a little reluctant to do that still, which is a good thing I might add. Now come on. Get into bed, you need your rest too. Not that I think you'll mind, but try to keep a hand around the lightening talisman at all times. I'll leave so you can change and I'll explain to mum what's going on." With that said and done, Bill left two tired teenagers in order to find one mother who won't be in a good mood.

Once bill had left, Ginny undressed and changed back into her sleeping cloths from the morning. She then got up and laid down on her bed next to Harry, snuggling close for warmth. She found the talisman and held on tight, afraid of letting Harry go.

"Ron, what do you think Harry is hiding?" a tired Hermione asked. She was stuck sharing a room with him tonight because Harry stole her spot. At least there are two beds in this room.

Ron was lying on his back staring up at his orange ceiling when he finally answered, "I'm not sure. It's pretty obvious that he's changed, but I miss the old Harry. This new one acts like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders, when our Harry would just worry about those that he knew and cared for."

"He still is our Harry, Ron. But I do know what you mean. What I don't get is why he would walk around with a battle robe, two talismans, and two wands just when going over for a trip to his friend's house. It was like he was expecting an attack."

"You didn't see him, Hermione. In about 2 minutes half the Death Eaters were down. He didn't even use his wand arm. He was firing spells with his left using a wand we haven't seen before and attacking people physically with a sword. I honestly don't know how Harry could have done that, even if he practiced all summer."

"Let's just call it a night, Ron. We'll ask him in the morning. Oh yea, it's good to see you again," Hermione said with a slight smile.

Ron grinned back, "It's always good to see you, Hermione."

It was bright when Harry awoke next. The first thing that registered was that he only had pants on. Then he realized there was a comfortable weight resting on him. Opening his eyes to the new day, Harry found out where he was and what was going on.

Ginny was still sleeping, her hand holding the talisman she had given him. Her hair was flowing across his chest, tickling him. Noticing the time was a little after noon, Harry decided they should get up. "Hey, Gin, it's past noon. We should probably head downstairs. And I want to let you know that you fit perfectly into my side," he added playfully.

Ginny's response was a smack in the arm, though it was weak from having just woken up. "I'm thirsty, why don't you get me a drink and I'll just sleep?"

With a flick of his wrist, glass of water appeared in Harry's hand. "Here you go, and if you go back to sleep I'll pour it on you."

Unfortunately for Ginny, she didn't take him seriously. Turning over to go back to sleep, she was rudely awaken by a glass of cold water being thrown on her. "Harry James Potter! You are dead, and don't expect me to ever help you again!" Before she could finish telling him off, Harry had grabbed his plain t-shirt and rushed from the room.

Stumbling down the last few steps while trying to get the shirt on, Harry noticed a group of people assembled in the kitchen. "So what's for breakfast?" he asked cheerily.

"Well, for you, I'd say an extremely mad red head. We know some good hiding places if you want," Fred offered.

"But you must tell us what you did first. She hasn't yelled like that in a long time!" George continued.

Harry grinned in return, "It's kind of funny actually. She wouldn't wake up, but than she asked for a glass of water. I conjured one and said if she didn't get up I'd pour it on her. She didn't take me seriously so she's drenched in cold water right now." Everyone laughed at Ginny's expense and Fred and George had a mischievous glint in their eyes.

Mr. Weasely was the first one to become serious, "Actually, Harry, we were hoping you could shed some light on things. I probably know the most considering I've dueled you before, but we still don't know how you learned everything you did. I doubt Moody even knows half of what you did."

Harry sighed, how many times was going to have to explain this? "Let's wait until Ginny gets here, I don't want to have to tell it any more."

A stomping could be heard from the stairwell quickly followed by a loud crack. The crack wasn't from someone apperating though; it was from Harry receiving a slap so hard he had five fingerprints on his cheek. "I'm here, so what was it that you were going to say, Harry?"

"You slap like you've had lots of practice, Gin. I just hope you don't do it again."

"Stop stalling, Potter, we know you better than that. Just tell us what's been going on. And if it still hurts later I'll give her this lotion Fred and George used to cherish," Ginny replied.

Fred looked indignant while George replied, "We only needed the stuff because you hit us so many times! So we stole a doll here and there, no reason to leave a mark on us."

Fred just muttered, "You're lucky, Harry, that was a restrained slap. It gets worse."

Everyone shared a laugh until all eyes once more fell on Harry Potter.

Deciding to just get it over with, Harry started to explain. "It's a long story, as I keep saying, so I'm going to give u the abbreviated version. Basically, I had found a way into Voldemort's mind and gained all of his knowledge in areas of spell casting and combat. It's really complicated but now I know the same things he does in muggle fighting, spells, curses, charms, occlumency, and the like. I'm able to duel so well because I had Mad Eye, Tonks, and Remus training me in their personal dueling styles and teaching me how to use the information I have and make it flow. So far I can take on half the Order, including the one time I got Dumbledore out of surprise."

A stunned silence filled the room until Hermione felt brave enough and asked, "Does that mean the Voldemort can do wandless magic like you can?"

Harry smiled at the question, "Anyone can do wandless magic, Hermione. So people just have more of an affinity for it, like my really old ancestor did. I have his same gifted ability at wandless magic and can do practically any spell with it, once I've mastered the spell that is. But yes, Voldemort can do wandless magic, just not multiple spells at one time."  
"You mean the way you shot five stunners out of your hand?" Ginny questioned. Harry nodded. They all looked awed.

Ron had the next question Harry had expected, "Harry, who was your ancestor?"

Harry had a huge grin on his face before he answered, "Godric Gryffindor."

_Flashback: _

_It was the beginning of July. The training was going well and Harry's progress was remarkable. It was 6:15, just finished for a day's hard work. Harry had taken to looking through his family heirlooms after his practices. He was now on his seventh and last chest to go through. _

_What was interesting about this chest was that there was no label explaining what was inside. Taking care, Harry opened the lid slowly. The inside was amazing! It was all lined with red velvet and had gold on the edges. It looked like a Gryffindor Common Room. _

_Reaching in, Harry took out the first object. It was a shield, made of what looked like solid gold. On the back of the shield was a Gryffindor lion. It fit perfectly in Harry's arm and was as light as a feather. Putting it aside, Harry withdrew another item. This one happened to be a griffin earring. It had a red ruby in it and was once again made from gold. _

_The last item in the chest was a sheath, a sword sheath. The weird thing was, there was no sword. Taking a closer look at the holder, Harry noticed the name Godric Gryffindor written in gold running up the side. Entranced by the sheath, he had failed to notice a letter sitting on the bottom of the box. Lifting it up Harry found out about his past, or more of his very distant past. _

_Dear Descendant,_

_If you are reading this, than you are truly a descendant of me, Godric Gryffindor. You will find some of my personal favorites that will help you in the quest of the light. The first is my favorite shield, given to me by my father and his father before him. It will repel any physical attack and should block all curses that come in contact with it. _

_The next heirloom I leave is a simple griffin earring. A griffin was my animagus form and this will help you enhance your normal senses while wearing it. It should let you hear whispers if you will it and will let you be able to smell like a pup at a command._

_The last thing I leave you is my sword. If the sword is missing than that means you have already called it to you. With a thought it will return to the sheath, and can be once again called to you. I recommend you take advantage of this, and my sword can act as a wand as well, yet it channels your power better and is more powerful than any wand._

_Lastly I will leave you with some advice. I trust that all is well in the world, but if it isn't remember that love is a powerful ally. Don't forget to live. _

_Farewell my Descendant, Godric Gryffindor_

_P.S. You might find that your wandless magic is growing enormously, do not fret, it runs in the family. _

_End Flashback_

"And that's how I found out," Harry finished. The whole room was sitting in awed silence and everyone seemed to shocked to speak.

Finally Charlie managed to same something, "Can we see the sword? And I think you should carry it around on you instead of one of the wands, look stronger and will be easier to use if your magic ever fails."

"I might take your advice, Charlie. But carrying more than one wand isn't for me. What if someone loses their wand? It's for those that I battle with and as you said to look imposing and deter the Death Eaters from attacking," Harry replied. Then with a flick of his wrist the sword appeared.


	5. Gifts

I forgot to put a disclaimer on this. All these character belong to J.K. Rowling and co.; only the plot is mine. Btw, this chapter is smaller than normal but it is necessary.

**Chapter 5: Gifts**

After the excitement of Harry being related to a Hogwarts founder had worn off, everyone finally got around to eating. Having lived off 'Dursley food' for so long Harry welcomed the variety Mrs. Weasely had offered. He ate a great amount of the menu, though Ron still had him beat hands down, besides, Harry ate like a gentleman.

Something the Ginny pointed out, "Ron, have you ever noticed how Harry eats. He does it in a slow and gentlemanly way. You just shovel it all in and spit it out when you talk."

Harry was starting to blush, until Hermione opened her mouth and made him choke. "That's not true! Ron can be a gentleman when he wants to and he isn't a slob."

"Hermione, did you just defend Ron's eating habits after yelling very morning at school about them?" Harry asked, purely shocked. Ginny gave him a triumphant wink from her seat next to him.

Ron was the next to speak up, "Hey, we may bicker but that's only because we care. Unlike other people, we don't slap someone when we're mad, we talk about it!"

Everyone starting laughing at Ron's choice of words and then at the way his face turned bright red with embarrassment. Harry decided to save him from further embarrassment so he started to drag him, Hermione away from the table. Ginny said she was still mad from the water so he had to lift her out of her seat and carry her to the stairs. "You won't be mad once you see what I'm about to show you three. Or maybe I should say, give you three." Finally setting a laughing Ginny down, Harry led the group upstairs and towards the room he slept in.

"Now, Harry, would this have anything to do with what I found in your pocket last night?" Ginny asked curiously.

Harry answered in a disappointed voice, "I didn't want you to already know what you might get. Do you have any idea what is whose?"

"I think I can. Harry, you can't seriously give me that, or them the other things!" though she was complaining, no one could miss the excitement in her voice.

Ron was confused, "What in Merlin's name are you talking about?"

"You'll find out," Harry replied with a grin, while sending a wink at Ginny. Opening the door he held it open for the trio to enter first and closed it behind him. "You see, I took a visit to the Potter Family Vault a few days ago. I thought you guys deserved something to have fun with so I picked up a couple heirlooms that should fit you well."

Ever the curiosity person, Hermione couldn't wait, "Well, Harry, what are they?"

Smiling at her enthusiasm, Harry waved a hand and made the gifts Ginny had accidentally found last night reappear in their original size. He handed the book to Hermione, the dagger to Ron, and gently gave the necklace to Ginny. Having already seen the necklace before, Ginny wasn't as surprised as the other two. She was still ecstatic and started examining it at every angle. Hermione was treating the book like it was a child and Ron was looking at the dagger with awe while trying to get a feel for it in his hand.

"Oh, Harry, it's absolutely beautiful! Will you put it on for me?" Ginny cried.

Harry smiled and reached for the necklace. "You know, Gin, this was my mom's. It was actually made by a muggle and then my dad engraved it himself."

As Harry was pulling the necklace around her Ginny started to worry, "Are you sure you want me to have it?"

"I wouldn't let anyone else have it, Gin," Harry said as he finished the clasp.

Turning around and flinging her arms around his neck, Ginny said a rushed thank you and proceed to pull Harry's head towards hers. At first caught off guard, Harry put his arms around her waist and met her lips half way. It was only the first time Harry had really felt alive. It seemed like electricity flowed between them and when they pulled apart they both wore huge smiles on their faces. Whispering, "Wow," Harry pulled her into a gentle embrace.

"Um, Harry, that is my sister you just snogged right in front of me," Ron said with a slight bit of humor in his voice.

Ginny decided to act like her siblings known as the twins and said in a deadly serious voice, "Ronald, if Harry and I want to snog, we will. Nothing you say or do will change that." With that said and done Ginny pulled a laughing Harry into a quick kiss.

"Hey, Ron, do you think we could show them what a real kiss looks like?" Hermione asked.

"Wha-" Ron was cut off middle word by Hermione doing exactly what Ginny had just done to Harry. Harry and Ginny were beyond shock, and Harry showed a little hurt. It looked like the two in front of them had done this more than once, and he couldn't believe they hadn't told him.

When Hermione turned away, the first thing she saw was Harry's hurt look. She was smart enough to guess why and she started to feel guilty. "Harry, don't be mad. It started at the end of last term, when we were stuck in the Hospital Wing. We thought that you had enough to deal with and we didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable or anything."

Ron picked up where she left off, "Harry, we really care about you, but we knew you were going through a lot and thought it was best to tell you after you got over Sirius's death."

Seeing Harry's face become steadily redder, Ron knew he had said the wrong thing. That thought was only increased when Harry's voice came out on such a cold and calm voice, you could feel the anger in it, "Well, maybe you should have asked me. You're like a brother to me and Hermione's my sister. I only would ever want you two to be happy. Don't you think that after I had just gotten someone killed, finding out my 'family' had found happiness would have made me a little bit happier? I thought I could've trusted you two out of everyone else, and now I find out you lied and deceived me for more than two months! You can keep your gifts; they're the last thing you'll get from me!"

"Harry, that's not what we were trying do," Hermione started. Harry never gave her a chance to finish.

"I'll see you later, Gin. Ron, Hermione; I might see you again. If I don't all you have to worry about is I'll still kick Voldemort's ass for you." Giving Ginny a peck on the cheek, Harry disappeared with a pop, taking all his belongs with him. Ginny gave her brother and Hermione a disgusted look then stormed out of the room.

Back at Privet Drive Harry was storming. He was beginning to lose control of his magic. Objects around his room were starting to fly around of their own accord. It looked like a hurricane inside a small room. The eye of the hurricane was Harry, though it didn't look like any Harry people were used to. His face was torn apart in pain and he seemed to have lost all resemblance of control. Only one thought went though his troubled mind. _They betrayed me. My family betrayed me. I have no one left. _Those three thoughts went round and round and grew in his mind. Until they were replaced by another thought, a much more sinister thought.

_It is all Voldemort's fault. _


	6. Payback

**Chapter 6: Payback**

_It was all Voldemort's fault._ Voldemort was the reason Harry's entire life was the way it was. No family, untrustworthy friends, lying adults and mentors. It all came back to Tom Marvolo Riddle, Lord Voldemort, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, You-Know-Who. It doesn't matter what his name is, it was the same person who pulled the trigger. The same _thing_ that had plunged his world into darkness. And by all the power he had, Harry would make him pay.

The hurricane in Harry's room had steadily grown stronger and more intent on destruction. Harry was the only thing left untouched. Filled with hate and the determination to destroy the monster which he hated, Harry strode to his bed. Once there he calmly sat in a cross legged position. He then proceeded to do what Voldemort himself had done; he broke into his nemesis's mind.

Using his Legimency skills and the connection through his scar, Harry willed himself inside the head of one of the most evil men alive. He succeeded.

Once again in an endless gray void, Harry realized the gravity of what he was about to do. He was about to access the complete list of every Death Eater. That list was currently kept in Voldemort's mind. Next he would uncover any plans the Dark Lord was cooking up. Finally, he would send a message to Voldemort. One that only he could send.

Suddenly a floating list of two categories appeared in front of Harry. The first was "Death Eaters" and the second was "Plans". Reaching for the first category Harry braced himself for the rush of knowledge that he knew would come. Taking a deep breath Harry made contact with the floating letters. A list of every Death Eater came flying into his head. He staggered under the enormity of it all. They appeared to be over three hundred strong!

About ten members of the inner circle were still alive and kicking. Another thirty were what seemed to be considered Lieutenants. Sixty Death Eaters were part of a Special Forces group. The worst part was when Harry found out there was two hundred forty seven regular Death Eaters. None of these numbers included captured or dead ones, which would have added another thirty to the total.

Looking at his watch to check the time Harry realized it was four thirty. He still had plenty of time before anyone became worried about him. Well, not him, more of his safety as a tool. Snorting at the thought Harry touched the remaining category.

Immediately plans of every kind went into him; attacks, deceptions, ideas. Harry soon sorted through the ones that were completed and the ones still in the thinking process. Before long, Harry found four major attacks that needed his attention right away. They happened to be at Durmstrange, Beaxubatons, Diagon Alley, and Hogsmead. The first attack would be at Beaxubatons, tonight! Apparently the school came into session on August 3rd and got out sooner than Hogwarts. Diagon Alley would be hit on September 1st while everyone's attention was on the safety of the students at Kings Cross. Hogsmead would be on October 31st and Durmstrange was scheduled to be 'turned' on November 13th.

Despite himself, Harry was impressed. Voldemort had really thought through each of these plans. Realisticly they could each be carried off tomorrow, everything and everyone was in place. He just wanted to leave enough time for people to fear his next move and join his side. Harry, remembering the attack scheduled for 5:30 tonight, looked down at his watch. 5:15, he had to leave! Willing his mind back in his own head, Harry found himself in the midst of a hurricane.

With a flick of his wrist everything settled down and returned to its normal position in the room. One more flick and the clothes he was wearing changed. Now Harry was wearing his white battle robes underneath the dragon hide battle robes Charlie had given him. He proceeded to put on both wands and then call Godric Gryffindor's sword to him. He opened the chest with the sheath and put it around his cloak. His last move was to check and make sure he had his griffin earring in and his two talismans under the cloak. Finally he donned his emerald green baseball cap and put it on backwards, giving him an unobstructed view.

Just before Harry portkeyed to Beaxubatons, he took out his mobile mirror Hagrid had given him. "All!" he shouted. Once Harry saw the faces of Remus, Ginny, Hermione, and Ron in his mirror he told them that an attack on Beaxubatons was going to take place in five minutes exactly. Before anyone could say anything he abruptly cut the connection and put the mirror in his pocket. He then grabbed the shield of Godric Gryffindor and attached it to his back, in an easily reachable position.

He then grabbed his watch and spoke clearly, "Beaxubatons."

Harry felt himself land in what appeared to be the school's dining hall. He noticed they only had four minutes and that entire school, students and staff, were giving him astonished looks. Before anyone could do anything Harry spoke, "My name is Harry Potter. There is a Death Eater attack that will take place in exactly four minutes! You must all retreat to the safest location in the castle. Madame Maxine, I am not joking! This is your school and you know how to defend it, all I can tell you is that they will portkey onto the school grounds facing the front of the school. I will meet them there, but I cannot take on one hundred fifty Death Eaters on my own. I request assistance and have already sent for outside help!"

Sensing Harry good intentions, Headmistress Maxine rose and addressed the school, "You all heard him! Please remain calm. We do not have adequate time to relocate you so I ask that you all remain here. If the teachers fit for dueling will please follow us outside, the rest of you will stay with the prefects and guard the room; from the inside. We will lock you in once we all leave the room."

Before she had even finished her statement, Harry had stridden from the room. He drew Godric's sword in his right hand and held the shield in his left. He reached the doors and was outside faster than any other. With about two minutes remaining, Harry was joined by Madame Maxine and ten other professors. "Not very good odds if what you say is true, Mr. Potter," she remarked.

"Trust me, it's true." Taking a good look at his surrounding, Harry soon understood what a beautiful school this must be. To all sides were hills that shone with brilliance of a sunset. You could see a magnificent lake in straight ahead and little cottages in the distance. Then you could see nothing but a sea of black.

Harry had already sent five stunners, and very powerful ones at that, faster than any Death Eater or professor had registered the other's existence. The Death Eaters up front soon caught on to the disturbance and were firing at the ten figures like crazy. After thirty seconds of constant enemy fire, four of the professors were down. Five of the remaining professors were huddled behind a big boulder while Madame Maine tried to protect herself and the remaining teacher behind a huge wall she had conjured.

Harry was busy using Gryffindor's Shield to notice any of this. Without really thinking, he did a running summersault and landed in the middle of a group of Death Eaters. With a graceful spin, he had taken them out of the battle with his sword and shield, which he quickly found out could channel his magic as well. Sending a reducto curse at a group of oncoming enemies, Harry had already evened the odds to 120 to 7. Hearing screams and the sound of a boulder breaking into a million pieces, Harry had to redo his last count. 120 to 3 was a better estimate.

Deciding the students came first; Harry fought his way to the front of the doors into the school. He was now side by side with Madame Maxine and they were slowly becoming overwhelmed. Through their combined efforts and defenses, Harry and the Headmistress had reduced the number of opponents to ninety. The school was fairing much worse, though. The only part that seemed to not be destroyed was the dining hall. They knew that because what was once a huge palace was now only a small square.

Thinking of how this was a suicide mission to begin with, Harry was losing hope. He was sporting several injuries despite all his protections and Madame Maxine was about to collapse. Thank whoever was watching over them, that Harry's reinforcements arrived.

Fifty strong the Order of the Phoenix arrived behind the group of Death Eaters. Curses immediately flew and it took a moment for the Voldemort supporters to realize what was happening. Once they did the school became a war zone. Bodies were being thrown everywhere. Screams could be heard from every direction. Blood could be seen gathering on the grass. Yet still they fought.

They battled and they yelled. They cursed and they kicked. The Order was down to thirty seven left standing and the Death Eaters were still up at fifty two fighters. The Death Eaters didn't have Albus Dumbledore or Harry Potter, though.

Together they cut a deep path within the oncoming killers. Madame Maxine was finally taken down and the twenty Order members still fighting were blocking the entrance. That was when the Auroras finally showed up. With the combined forces of the Auroras attacking from the back, Order members from the front, and Dumbledore and Potter from the inside, the Death Eaters no longer stood a chance. They still fought with the violence and bloodshed they worshipped though. And the light paid dearly for their dedication to protecting the children in the school.

At long last the final Death Eater was brought down, brought down by a combination of seven stunners. Those seven stunners were all that was left of the Light side. Albus Dumbledore, Alastar Moody, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Amos Diggory, and Harry Potter were the only ones left standing. The Order members went into action tying up the Death Eaters while Diggory went off to tell the children. Lupin left to go bring back medical help and to call the rest of the Order here.

While all this was going on, Harry just stood there. He was too exhausted to do anything else. He ended up leaning against his sword as Remus arrived. He was followed by what looked like all of St. Mongos and ten Order members. What surprised Harry most was when Ginny, Ron, and Hermione showed up as well. Everyone was moving about the battle field securing Death Eaters and healing anyone who wasn't one. Ginny was the first to spot him and ran over, placing ropes around any Death Eaters she passed.

"Harry! Thank god, you're alright," she muttered as she flung her arms around him. Noticing how he staggered backward over a simple hug she asked, "You are alright aren't you?"

"Yea, just a bit woozy right now. I think I need a nap and my talismans are starting to burn."

Rushing over, Hermione gave Harry a pepper-up potion to help. "Oh, Harry. You have so many cuts I'm surprised you're still standing at all. I'll fix up as many as I can, but I can't do anything for your dislocated shoulder."

Smiling weakly Harry replied, "I forgot I dislocated that. At one point a Death Eater released what looked like a hundred bludgers at Madame Maxine and me. My shield blocked most of them, but it still makes an impact if they hit you fifty times."

"Let me see your talismans," Ginny instructed breaking Harry's dry humor. Doing as she said, Harry took the talismans from under his shirt and handed them over. As soon as Ginny's hands wrapped around them, Harry felt some of the pain slip away.

"Thank you," he whispered and laid his head atop hers. He felt the exhaustion in his bones but didn't dare leave yet. With so many Death Eaters just lying around, Harry did feel safe going home to rest.

Just as this thought occurred Dumbledore spoke. "Everyone please step back. If you are taking a patient to the hospital, please leave now." About twenty five portkeys were activated. "Now will all the Order members stack the Death Eaters in one neat pile." Suddenly all the people left lying on the ground flew together in a single sitting group. The group was then tied with about a hundred feet of rope. "Thank you. Now please step back. Corpas Monumentas Aparentathis!" Dumbledore shouted. The group of Death Eaters suddenly disappeared. With another flick of his wand, the grounds cleaned themselves up of the blood, yet the palace was beyond repair.

Dumbledore continued to issue instruction, "As the school is beyond repair, I would like the remaining Order members to hand out these portkeys." He held up a bag filled with meaningless things. "The portkeys are to take a group of twenty students each, plus the Order member back to Hogwarts. It is the safest place at the moment. Now, if I may have a word with Mr. Potter you can all start with the distribution of the portkeys."

Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione stood their ground as Dumbledore headed towards them. An unspoken agreement seemed to have been reached between the once Golden Trio and they were standing proud.

Reaching them, Dumbledore was the first to speak, "First off, Harry, I would like to thank you. You managed to inform the right people of the attack and warn the school. Besides that you were able to single handily destroy have of Voldemort's attack force and create a huge dent in his plans. I believe what you did here was a great accomplishment, yet I also want you to look at the bad side of things."

Too tired to speak, Harry let his friends do the talking for him. "No offense, Headmaster, but if Harry hadn't shown up here hundreds of students would have died tonight. Not just the death of every person present at the school, but then the families would suffer from their losses and the Death Eaters would be a hundred and fifty people stronger," Ron spoke with such conviction in his voice that Harry knew whose side Ron will always be on. His.

Hermione continued, "I understand we had losses, Professor. Every battle has losses and this is war. But everyone who came here tonight volunteered to put themselves in danger and fight the darkness. These students, many of which are nothing but children, have not chosen to fight in this war. True we must all fight, yet they are so young and innocent the responsibility is not yet theirs to bear." Harry now had both his best friends back he thought with a smile.

Ginny was the last to voice her thoughts, "If you tell Harry what he did was wrong, than I don't understand what is right. He did what needed to be done in a time of crisis and because of it the innocents are safe. If _your_ Order had been quicker in their response time, less casualties we might have faced. We do what needs to be done, Professor Dumbledore, and that is all that can be expected."

Harry was openly smiling at this point. "Now, Albus, if you'll please excuse us. I would like to head back to Privet Drive and rest. Ron and Hermione, you are welcome to join me and I don't believe Ginny will take no for an answer. Good night, sir."

With that said and done, Harry had them all touch his watch and they landed in his bedroom back in Surrey. "So what do you think guys? A nice long nap will do wonders I'm believin'."


	7. Summer

Author Notes: I would like to thank my reviewers very much; it really brightens my day to see such a positive response to my story. Anyway, enjoy! 

**Chapter 7: Summer**

After arriving back in Harry's room in Number 4 Privet Drive, the four friends came to an unspoken agreement to not ask about what happened at the current moment. It after all, the first time anyone besides a few members of the Order had really been inside Harry's room and had the chance to examine it. What they saw made Harry look worse off than the Weaselys had been.

The room was decorated with only the basic necessities. Along one wall of the room was the smallest bed possible that still allowed Harry enough room to just lye down. In the corner stood a bureau that appeared to only hold a five year old's cloths. In the last area there was a desk, an extremely small desk at that, under the window. Not including the trunk at the foot of the bed, that was all there was.

"Um, Harry, what happened to all the things you said Remus had brought over?" Hermione nervously asked.

"Well, you can all tell this room is a dump. I did what I could with magic while still keeping my uncle happy. My trunk is a lot bigger than you'd think, and has levels in it like Mad Eye's does. I put a lot of stuff in there," Harry seemed to talk about the room with such normality it was almost sad.

It broke Ginny's heart to hear him talk about the way his life was with his 'family'. He acted like it was no big deal and that was how things were meant to be. She figured any other man would have lost it by now, becoming another Voldemort or just ending it themselves. At the last thought she shivered.

"Cold?" Harry asked. He wrapped a quilt around her shoulders and tried to give her a massage to let her ease down. He could tell she was upset over something, though what he didn't exactly know.

"Just a bit, but where'd this come from? It wasn't here a minute ago," Ginny replied, leaning back into his arms that were still trying to massage her shoulders, and failing miserably.

Harry just smiled and snapped his fingers. In his hand appeared a dozen roses, pink in color and beautiful in smell. A soft "Oh" could be heard from Hermione as Ginny stared at the flawless flowers. Figuring he would be a nice guy, Harry snapped his fingers once more and a group of white roses appeared in Ron's hand. With the flowers, came an attached note. _Give them to her, mate. Don't just stand there._   
Ron grinned at Harry and handed the roses to Hermione. Harry knew he made his friends happy when Hermione grabbed the flowers and gave Ron a quick kiss, followed by an air kiss for Harry. Harry pretended to catch it but instead flicked his wrist. The pretend kiss was now floating in the air red as a fire truck. Quickly grabbing it, Harry pushed the kiss on Ginny's cheek where a small splat could be heard. She started to giggle and relax more into Harry's arms.

All of a sudden her eyes flew open. "What do you think you're doing, Harry! You're supposed to be resting. After a fight the likes I could barely imagine, you come home and do magic. The talismans need to regenerate, not be drained! You are to march right into bed this instant and I will not take no for an answer!"

Ginny looked so much like her mother that Harry couldn't help but laugh. He only stopped when he felt a light slap on his arm and his eyes met Ginny's glare. "You do know that being back here helps? Probably something with my mum's blood magic, but doing magic also helps. Unfortunately, you are not going to let me fool around any longer. In that case I need to tell you to get ready yourself because you still need to hold the talisman. Remember you were leaning against it before but it's starting to burn again."

Ginny immediately put a hand on the exposed talismans. As the pain started to leave Harry's face, Ron asked Harry where they would sleep. "It really is up to you. I can send you back home or you can be really cramped here tonight. You're welcome to visit whenever though, Arabella Figgs house is connected to the floo network. After a quick look, Ron and Hermione decided to return to the Burrow.

"Hand me a rose, Hermione," taking a white rose from his friend, Harry took out his wand. It was a rare occurrence these days but Harry wanted to make sure you performed it perfectly. "Portus," he muttered, while pointing his dragon heartstring wand at the flower. It turned a slight blue and glowed for a second until return back to normal. "Here, guys, just touch this and it'll take you back to the Burrow."

After a quick hug and slap on the back, Harry's first true friends disappeared from Privet Drive. Though anyone in a mile radius could have heard Molly Weasely's scream of surprise, Harry and Ginny just smiled at each other and laid back on the much too small bed.

"You know, Harry, this bed is barely fit for you. We could use a bigger one for the both of us."

Harry feigned a hurt look, "Does that mean you don't want to be close to me anymore?"

Ginny gave an appreciative chuckle, "What do you think I've been waiting all these years to do. Now come one and let's get to sleep. I want to wake up early tomorrow and give your relatives a piece of my mind."

"Would you like to borrow a set of battle robes for that? I'm not sure that my uncle and aunt will be happy to see you."

"Aha, I found what you don't know. You see, now that I'm your girlfriend, you pretty much do what I say. If I say jump, you say how high. Got it?" At Harry's nod, Ginny continued. "As for your relatives, I said I would take care of them, and being a Weasely I won't stop until they've had a good talking to."

"You mean _now _you're a Weasely. Someday that may just change," Harry said with a yawn. Ginny was saved from coming up with a response do to the fact that Harry had already fallen asleep and was started to quietly snore.

After a while, she managed to calm her happiness and fall asleep. But not before worrying that everything was going too good to be true, or at least stay this good.

The next morning Harry woke up a slight tingle on his face. At first he was confused, nothing in his room made him tingle. The tingling slowly turned into a tinkling sensation. He reached up to swipe away whatever was bothering him. What his hand met was not what he had expected, though he hadn't expected much.

Harry's hand had come in contact with another hand, a much smaller feminine hand. Opening his eyes, Harry saw Ginny leaning over him giggling. She was holding some strands of her hair and he quickly realized what the thing was that was tickling him was. "Why'd you wake me up so early?"

"It's eight, sleepyhead. Remember that I wanted to have a talk with your relatives this morning."

"Gin, I just want to sleep. You can go talk if you want," Harry mumbled trying to turn over. Unfortunately, the limited bed space caused him to almost fall off the bed. Ginny pulled him back and then sat on his stomach.

"You, Mr. Potter, really do need to learn the arts of dating. I believe I told you that what I say always goes. Well, I say that if you're a good boy and do as I say, I'll give you a special reward later," Ginny said in her most flirty voice.

"I don't have any reason to trust you will keep your end of the deal, Ms. Weasely."

Leaning downwards, she was still sitting on his chest, Ginny gave him a passionate kiss. "As you said earlier, I might not be _Ms. Weasely _for long."

With that, Ginny got off Harry and handed him a set of clothes she had picked out. They were muggle in appearance and Harry, after seeing Voldemort's main plans and putting him at a major setback, chose to not where his muggle battlerobes. He put on a pair of blue jeans and a white muggle t-shirt that said "Just Do It". He also put on his green cap he had become fond of and had his dragon wand under his jeans on his left foot.

Fortunately for his girlfriend, Harry could conjure simple muggle clothes. Seeing as how she only had the robes from yesterday, Ginny asked Harry for a low cut pair of jeans and a form fitting pink shirt. Once the clothes appeared, Ginny shooed Harry out of the room so she could change. She ended up grabbing one of Harry's Gryffindor ties and looping it through her belt while writing surf up on her shirt. She had found a blue marker within Harry trunk and ended up making a huge wave on the front of the shirt. Overall, she was happy with her look and expected Harry to be as well.

After pulling her hair back in a ponytail, Ginny left the room to find Harry on the other side of the hall. He seemed to not hear her as she slowly approached. The look of longing was written all over Harry's face as he stood looking at pictures of when the Dursley's were a younger family. Slipping an arm around his waist she asked if he was okay.

"You probably know that I would normally say, I'm fine, and then turn away. But Gin, I feel like I'm missing something. Looking at these pictures all I ever wanted was my own parent. Someone who would always be there and actually except me as their own. I guess you could say someone to love me. Once I had actually met a descent family, I was already a wizard. I had lost my need for a parent by that time but it didn't stop my want for one. The fame I always got from being The-Boy-Who-Lived never helped, even with your family. Everyone always treated me special and wanted to always be by me.

I guess you can say I'll never have a parent now. The closest thing I had was Sirius, and look where that got him. Your mom has always been great, but she also wants to suffocate me with too much care and not enough freedom. I'm a legal adult now and no longer need a guardian. No one in the muggle world would think about taking me in and I wouldn't want the fame of the wizarding world as a guardian. I think I'm trying to say is that I miss the chance to have never had a family." Harry's eyes were glazed over with unwilled tears, he didn't let a single drop fall though.

Seeing this Ginny spoke, "Harry, tears aren't a weakness; they're your biggest strength. Let one fall every now and then and let yourself stay human. You may not have had a family in the past, but you do now. Ron and Hermione have been with you for years. They would die for you, not to save The-Boy-Who-Lived, but to save Harry James Potter. You've added something to their lives, Harry, and you've earned their love; as you have earned mine. One day you'll have a family of your own and then you'll feel exactly what it's like to have a family. One day you will have a wife and some kids. One day you'll have a future to look forward to filled with only happiness and love. When that day comes, you will have defeated Voldemort, for love is your greatest weapon."

When Ginny finished speaking, Harry pulled himself away from the pictures and held his girlfriend in a tight embrace. Ginny could feel all of Harry's doubt and fear in that embrace and hung on to him. "Thank you," was all he said, yet Ginny knew what he felt, she could feel his emotions inside of her. _That's strange_.

The embrace was interrupted by the yell of, "Boy, get down here!" Taking her hand in his, Harry steeled himself for the encounter he knew was about to take place. Before they even entered the kitchen Vernon started speaking again, "I know those freaky friends of your have left, boy! It's high time you started to pull your weight around here. You will mow the lawn, trim the hedges, wash the car, and dust the entire house before four o'clock. I have company arriving and if your chores are not done than it will be no meals for a week! Marge will be coming to stay, and if you pull another stunt like last time I will personally finish what Voldywasits started sixteen years ago."

Ginny was appalled at what Harry's uncle had just said to his nephew. How could Dumbledore have left him here? "Excuse me?" she snarled. Her voice had startled the three Dursleys so much the Petunia dropped her frying pan, Dudley choked on his food, and Vernon ripped the newspaper he was reading in half. "I believe you owe Harry an apology. He has never done any wrong to your family, yet you treat him like dirt every day. Since he was a baby you mistreated and abused him! Since he became a wizard it only became worse. I ask you, what has Harry ever done to you?" After waiting a minute and getting no response, she continued. "Could it be the fact that Harry tried to tell you the truth about your bully of a son? Perhaps it's the notion that Harry managed to save that same bully last year when he could easily have left him for death? I had come here expecting a messed up household, but what I just heard makes me believe that you all deserve to be in a mental ward and jail!"

The next thing Ginny did surprised the entire room. She took a few pieces of toast off the table then spat at Vernon Dursley. Seeing his uncle get steadily redder, Harry stepped forward. "You won't hurt her, _uncle_. Trust me, I would make setting that snake on Dudley look like baby's play if you move an inch to hurt her. By the way, we'll be out for the day and will return back before midnight. I know you don't care, but right now I'm the only thing keeping the world you love so much alive. I wouldn't get on my bad side anymore."

Turning as one, Harry and Ginny walked out of the kitchen leaving a stunned silence in their wake. As soon as they made it outside, Harry burst out laughing and Ginny let a look of deep sadness cross her face. Noticing this Harry stopped his laughter and ask, "Gin, what's wrong?"

"Oh, Harry, you should have told someone the muggles were that bad. Mum and dad would have done something and Dumbledore could have gotten you out of there," seeing Ginny close to tears, Harry pulled her into another hug.

"I did tell them. They chose not to believe me. That's why it hurt so much the other day when I found out Ron and Hermione had lied to me. I felt like there was no one else I could trust. No one believed me before except them and they betrayed me in my mind. I understand what's happened over the years and why people chose not to believe me, so just trust me okay. Let's spend the day shopping and I'll take you to go see a movie tonight that way we can avoid Marge."

Ginny nodded so they headed out. After finally arriving at a shopping mall, Harry began to explain to Ginny how everything worked at what the different technological advancements did. All in all, the shopping spree worked pretty well in getting his girlfriend's mind off bad thoughts. When it neared lunch time, Harry bought them all some food called McDonald's.

Surprisingly it tasted very good and Harry was sent up to get seconds. Before they new it, the time was nearing three. Harry wanted to drop off their purchases back in his room before the movie and so they headed back. Mentally going over everything they bought Harry was for once in his life happy he was filthy rich.

Together they had spent over 2,000. Harry had purchased a laptop computer and two Ipods for their enjoyment. Truth be told, it had taken Harry a while to explain what they did, but once Ginny cottoned on, she immediately begged her boyfriend for a music player. Besides that, the two had bought what appeared to be an entire new wardrobe and had even got Ginny a beautiful earring to match the necklace Harry had given her the other day, the necklace that belonged to his mother.

After returning to Privet Drive and emptying their pockets of shrunken bags, Harry and Ginny left to catch a late night movie. They had sealed Harry's room with magic so no one could steal their things and had written a quick letter to the Order saying that if it was alright with the Weaselys, Ginny would be staying here for the rest of the summer. Harry also wrote something that Ginny could read and so she had continued to learn how to use her new Ipod. What Harry had written was the dates of the upcoming attacks and a list of all the Death Eaters currently in Voldemort's service.

Finally finishing the letter and sending Hedwig with it to Remus, Harry and Ginny took the long way to the movies. They passed through a beautiful park and had talked about anything that had come to mind. They seemed made for each other's company and when they finally reached the theater, they were reluctant to go in and leave the peacefully park. But in they went and Harry had bought tickets for a movie called Blade Trinity.

Ginny herself had thought the movie wasn't so bad and had enjoyed it. Harry had thought the show was excellent and wanted to try out some of the things he saw on the film. Both of them though had lost most of the plot itself due to the continual snogging sessions they seemed to take. By the time the movie ended, Ginny was practically in Harry's lap. Preparing for the worst, they couple had began they trek home. They arrived at eight forty-five and let themselves in.

The first thing that registered in Harry's mind was Marge, who was sitting directly across from the door in the dining room. She seemed to be almost waiting for him to return home and berate him. "I see the ungrateful little runt has finally come back. Why didn't you save this poor family the trouble and just stayed out?"

"Sorry, Marge, I didn't mean to interrupt your time. We'll be heading upstairs and we promise you won't see hide nor hair of either of us until you leave," Harry tried to reason, not wanting to the chance to be further provoked and losing control again.

They had made it all the way to the stairs before Marge spoke again, "Bringing in a filthy tramp at this late at night. I'd watch it boy. I know what type of despicable character you have and feel sorry for anyone who entangles themselves with you. Besides, from what Petunia has been muttering, she looks just like your bitch of mother. Remember how that had turned out?"

Harry desperately fought for control. The struggle could be seen by everyone who knew he was magical. Giving him a quick kiss on the lips to distract him, Ginny was able to lead Harry upstairs to his room where he finally let his anger out. What happened was a bit frightening actually, but she knew she was safe.

A mini hurricane arose. It started to twirl and spin in its natural anger and small flashes of miniature lightening could be seen with the cloud of emotion. As fast as it had come into being it vanished, and the few objects it had managed to misplace were quickly put right with a flick of Harry's finger.

"Harry, why didn't you tell us you were an elemental?"

Harry looked startled, "What? I'm not an elemental. I can't control the forces of nature. That just happens when I feel really angry or determined." He sounded like he was trying to convince himself as much as her.

"Harry, that's what Elementals do. They control nature."

It had been a quick few weeks, the quickest Harry had actually ever felt at Privet Drive. Ginny and Harry went out every day. Sometimes they went shopping, other times they went to the movies. People could have claimed that they walked in the park so many times; they knew it like it was the back of their hand. No matter what the two were doing though, they were both growing more comfortable with each other.

At some points, the two seemed to be able to read each other's mind. A couple of times they actually felt the other's specific thought enter the mind. It was very confusing but they had started to try and control the action. As a matter of fact, they were able to communicate short sentences through their mind link. At the moment eye contact was essential and only short phrases could be made, though it was amazing all the same.

Another change had been their power levels. Every Saturday Remus, Moody, Tonks, Ron, and Hermione would come to visit. The three adults made sure the teenagers were still practicing their dueling, which Harry had been personally training Ginny in, and then discussed a little Order business. The most current concern was the impending attack on Diagon Alley that was scheduled for tomorrow. Harry had informed the other three what was going on and their plan to counter Voldemort this time.

In the event of a failed defense, Harry and Ginny had removed all of the belongings, not gold though they did bring quite a lot of that as well, back to Privet Drive. The couple had shrunken everything down and placed chest upon chest upon chest into his school trunk. He did leave Ginny though with the jewelry. Everything was packed up and ready for the departure the following morning.

Ginny was supposed to go apperate onto Platform 9 ¾ and head straight to the prefect cart, where she would meet Ron and Hermione. She had been made prefect and Harry had gotten Quiditch Captain. He already said she had her spot as lead chaser if she wanted, and she readily agreed. They had also made several special accommodations with Dumbledore.

At first they didn't know what to think about the mind speaking ability, so they tried to work it out. As they had grown onto each other, it had always been near impossible to fall asleep if the other person couldn't. Ending up sharing the same bed lead to peaceful sleep and had seemed to enhance their ability. Dumbledore had understood their need to share quarters and had agreed to let them use the Head Boy room in Gryffindor Tower if they promised to behave themselves and act as responsible adults. They had been doing nothing wrong and had just shared many passionate kisses.

While Ginny was on the way to Hogwarts, Harry was going to be already situated in Diagon Alley. They had no idea when the attack would begin and therefore made sure his alarm was set for a five o'clock wake up call. He had charmed all the muggle technology to run on magic and therefore was taking his Ipod with him on the battle. His battle robes, talismans (which were now on the same chain), and wands were laid out on the floor. Along with those items, Gryffindor's shield and sword lay on the floor as well. Harry had everything out and ready so as to be moving at a moment's notice.

Ginny had even seen to keeping a warm cup of coffee by their bed at all times and kept whispering words of encouragement and comfort to Harry. The plan was set up and it was the best defense they could manage at the moment. When the clock struck midnight, Ginny forced Harry to lie still and snuggled up close to him. Just before letting sleep claim her, she thought to Harry, "_I love you."_

His reply was spoken aloud, however and the words, "I love you too, Gin," were the words the two fell asleep to.


	8. Fights, Lots of Fights

**Chapter 8: The Fights, Many Fights**

The universe is filled with many strange and wonderful things. After everything that had happened to him, Harry was surprised to see that on the eve of battle, he had slept better than when he was a baby. When the alarm went off at five the next morning, Harry was up and moving at a lightning fast pace.

Within five minutes he was showered, clean shaven, and wide awake. He had downed his coffee in three gulps and had changed into his battle gear at record time. At five fifteen in the morning, before the sun had even ridden, Harry was ready to go. He ended up giving a sleeping Ginny a quick kiss and then he apperated to Diagon Alley. He appeared in a privet room in the Leaky Cauldron, one that had already been reserved with Tom the inn keeper.

Inside was the already assembled Order of the Phoenix. All but a skeleton crew was here. All the Hogwarts professors were here, along with the older Weaselys (minus Percy), all the auroras not on duty at Kings Cross, and a group of volunteer fights that Tom, who was working as a scouter for the Order, had assembled. They were all dressed in light weight clothing and when Harry looked at the large group, he knew they weren't fit for battle. Not the type of battle Harry knew was coming. Just then, Albus Dumbledore stood up and called everyone's attention to him.

As Harry leaned back against the wall the speech began, "You all know why you are here. Today, the time is not yet known, there will be an attack on Diagon Alley. We can only guess how many Death Eaters will be arriving, but we estimate anywhere from one hundred to two hundred of them. We, that is to say Harry and I, highly doubt that Voldemort himself will show. If he does, try to get out of his way and continue to fight his followers, a fight with him will only be prolonged if Harry or I is in the area. Now we have been watching all the entrances to and fro the Alley, and so far haven't sensed any activity, though Knockturn Alley seems a bit darker and slightly colder lately. For this reason we believe dementors will take part in battle, so please make sure you take chocolate with you."

Interrupting the Headmaster from saying anything more, Harry spoke out, "To be honest, I don't want many of you in the alley itself. Don't take this the wrong way, but only a handful of you actually have robes good enough to do battle with this amount of Death Eaters. I want the majority of you up on the roofs and inside the buildings. The top floors would be the best. Also, by six thirty I want to have ten very strong barricades set up against the following establishments; Weasely Wizard Wheezes, The Leaky Cauldron, Eyelops, Fortescue's, the apothecary, magical menagerie, Flourish, Quiditch, and two directly in front of the Knockturn Alley entrance. Use every charm, spell, knowledge, muggle uses and wizards to protect these. If you begin to get overpowered, make your way to these barricades. We'll also be issuing portkeys. They will be activated as soon as you say the word 'portus'. You will be transported to the Hospital Wing in Hogwarts."

"Now I believe we have a job to do, let's go do it!" The entire assembled crowd cheered with the finish of Harry's speech.

As expected, everything was set up by six thirty. The group then went about to their assigned positions and everyone began to feel the tensions of the calm before a storm. It could almost be heard in the silence as people finished some last minute setting up. All ninety defenders, for that was all there was, were trying their best to act calm and collected and all managed to eat a good amount of breakfast that was delivered to them. Soon the clock started ticking away and small clumps of chatter could be heard.

By eight, a few shoppers arrived, though as the Order soon explained what was going on they either left quickly or stayed to help with the fight. Before explaining anything however, the person in question was checked for the Dark Mark. None had them and everything was still running pretty smoothly by eleven.

The Hogwarts Express would be leaving now, and with it Harry's friends were on their way to safety. For that Harry was grateful. He knew, even with the extra training they were all getting, they wouldn't last long in the upcoming fight. Within ten minutes after that thought, a series of pops could be heard, about ten, and Harry already had disarming spells headed their way before they could blink. Catching their wands, Harry noticed they were the auroras from Kings Cross and after checking for the Dark Mark, he handed them back their wands and proceeded to tell them the best areas to stay, what to do, and who to avoid.

After the auroras arrival, Harry had his shield and sword drawn. He had a prickling feeling that associated with danger. Knowing it wasn't far away, Harry and Dumbledore gave the order to be at the ready. They couldn't have had timing if they had seen the future. At the exact moment that all wands were facing the entrance to Knockturn Alley, a great wave of black rolled out of it.

A chilling sensation filled the air and the area started to go dark. Those that could produce a patronus did so immediately, thought the black was barely deterred by the small patroni. It was then Harry finally managed to come up with a happy thought. The thought was of when Ginny had told him that she loved him. He couldn't have ever been happier.

"Expecto Patronum!" Harry screamed. Out of Gryffindor's sword came a stag. But not just a normal stag patronus, a Harry Potter patronus. Owing to the extra power given by the sword and the immense power he already had, a twenty foot tall GOLD stag had rushed forward. It charged the incoming dementors and with its charge came a shriek.

A horrible sound was coming from any dementor it touched, the result being in the dementor disappearing in a puff of smoke and a loud screech. It was a mesmerizing sight to behold and everyone, including Harry looked on with awe. Until Harry remembered the patronus would only affect dementors, not Death Eaters. "At the ready, the battle has yet to begun!" Harry shouted.

The few surviving dementors decided to turn tail and run instead of facing something so pure and strong. Soon they and the golden stag disappeared and Harry's group was waiting with bated breath for the first sign of a Death Eater. Harry and Albus, for now Harry respected the man and the power he held, were standing directly in front of the entrance into the alley. They radiated power and it seemed no Death Eater was brave enough to attack first.

That was when an Explosion was heard inside Gringotts. Turning his head quickly, Harry saw the roof of the building explode outwards. The rubble rained down upon the Order members and Harry saw one of their barricades fall. Luckily the people themselves had remained unharmed. Now using his griffin earring to its full extent, Harry heard the sound of approaching Death Eaters. "Approaching Death Eaters! Too many to count and I want them all stopped before a single life is wasted!"

As soon as he finished the first Death Eaters rushed into visual sight. Harry sent a five stunners at them using his shield hand while sending a very large reducto curse and the on coming black mass. A group of about ten Death Eaters were already out of the fight from the two spells and Albus seemed to have taken out about the same number as well. The Death Eaters kept coming though. And they never seemed to stop.

Spell after spell rained down from the rooftops and buildings. The few fighters stationed on ground level were taking down any advancing members that managed to get past the two leaders. Unfortunately, the Death Eaters definitely decided to go for size today and even the two hundred mark seemed slight in comparison to the amount of black robed figures.

Soon Harry and Albus were surrounded around all sides. They were forced back to back with one another and still managed to cut down the oncoming forces. They knew who they needed to get and who the others could handle. The others were busy handling their own problems though.

Just as a stunner was fired from a nearby rooftop, the shop ceiling exploded outwards. The man seemed to fly and then fall slowly to his death. For some ironic reason, he fell atop the same Death Eater that had fired the spell and killed him in his crash. From there, the careful planning by both sides started to fall away.

It seemed like hours, all the fighting and mayhem. In reality, it was hours and it was only increasing in intensity. Harry was backed up against the wall, with a fair number of cuts on him and some nice bruises along his body. He didn't deter though in his movements and continued to be a royal pain in the Death Eater's arses. He had already managed a staggering fifty two downed members. There were still over two hundred of them still and the Order wasn't fairing as well.

Their numbers dwindling, must of the fighters of the light were trying to stay together. There was a total of thirty left, out of what had once been a hundred strong. After an intense six hours of fighting, Charlie Weasely was the only Weasely left at the sight. He had been fighting along his brother Bill, but he had been hit hard with a cutting curse to the leg and had to portkey out of the line of three killing curses. Charlie's father had been under a balcony when it collapsed on top of him. Charlie had seen his father's look of fear before managing to utter portus.

Fred and George had been sending some things they called magical grenades at the Death Eaters. The little things had exploded and released a variety of curses that incapacitated the Death Eaters long enough for them to be taken out. That had made them prime targets and had been constantly under fire. Harry had already had to come and ward off the Death Eaters there two times, each leaving a mess of blood and robes where his sword had once been.

They had soon succumbed to the Death Eaters and were being subjected to crucio when Charlie had stunned their attackers and made the twins portkey away. Remus had been quick to back Charlie up and the two had been doing their very best to stay standing. After realizing how good of a dueler Remus was, Charlie was surprised James had not beaten Voldemort when he had dueled him those many years ago. Unfortunately, the Order was only left with about twenty members when something happened that made every heart stop, friend and foe alike.

It was laughter, maniacal laughter that chilled the bone. Following it to its source everyone was astonished to find a deadly white human standing there. Behind him was a group of thirty similar looking people. Seeing that he had the attention of every person on the battle field, the man spoke.

"I am Darmien, the half-blood prince! You may not have heard of me, but I am a very special creature. I am a vampire!" at this pronouncement everyone but Remus, Albus, and Harry shivered. "But that is not all my warriors. I am the first vampire to be able to do magic. And I am quite exceptional at it. Now, I am not on anyone's _side_ though I will alley myself this once against the light with another. Feed now, my children and drink the blood of any who gets in your way."

A shout was heard Death Eaters and Order members alike began scrambling together. Harry on the other hand knew what needed to be done, and wasn't happy about it. "EVERYONE PORTKEY OUT! THE BATTLE IS OVER FOR NOW! GET OUT AND REGROUP AT THE POINT. ALBUS, MYSELF, AND REMUS WILL MEET YOU THERE SHORTLY." The group immediately activated their portkeys and disappeared. Remus had been given the chance to stay because he would not be acceptable to the vampires, being he is a vampire. The Death Eaters saw their chance for victory and started to troop towards the three remaining light figures.

"Harry, we must get out of here," Albus said.

"I know Albus, but we need to gain an assessment of the enemy, both enemies actually and this is the only way to do it. Remus can hold the vampires off while you take care of the Death Eaters. I'll be doing both while trying to get to the prince. I have a feeling he will be a n instrumental part in this war, and if we could hope for a chance to beat him, now would be a good time to test out his strength."

After blasting a few Death Eaters aside Dumbledore replied, "You will not have long. We won't have long." Just as he said it his Headmaster was hit in the back by a curse and was sent flying. He disappeared in mid air though and Harry breathed a sigh of relief.

Remus wasn't fairing much better. He was shooting sunlight charms at the vampires and using his werewolf strength to throw the vampires off him. He had already staked five and was in the process of burning another when he saw Albus disappear in mid flight. He turned to see Harry come running forward. "I have to do something, I'll be right back. Hold them here, but do not get yourself killed. I think I have a lead on something that will get rid of one problem for good, but these vamps will get in my way."

Remus nodded, while shooting a spike out of his wand into an incoming vampire's heart. "Get going, Harry, the Death Eaters are afraid of the vampires and won't attack me with them still here, and the vampires are afraid to get too close because they can smell the werewolf. Do it, but do not get _yourself_ killed."

Before he could finish Harry had raced off up the street of vampires to where Darmien was standing. He had given up on accuracy long ago and had just sent spikes out of his sword and shield while running. Seven more vampires disappeared in a flash of flames and that was when Harry finally let the enormity of what he was about to do sink in. He couldn't believe he was trying to do it, but the movie had seemed real enough, maybe there was truth behind the fiction and this Darmien guy seemed to be like the Drake in the movie he and Ginny had seen.

In the movie, a group of _hunters_ had tried to get the original vampire's blood and then in the process release a virus that would kill every vampire to touch the deadly DNA. After joining the wizarding world and seeing so many surprises, Harry wouldn't be too astonished if his idea worked. He was going to try to get Darmien's blood so they could see how to destroy the other vampires, or at least find their weakness so they could actually fight them.

As a matter of fact, the idea of facing on enemy instead of three hundred appealed to Harry and he was quick in his journey to the Half-Blood Prince. The two remaining vampires tried to jump Harry once more who had once again staked the two in the heart. No more vampires came and Harry saw the gathering mass of Death Eaters down below. Remus was no where to be seen and every wand was on him, including Darmien's, who seemed to hold it more like a sword.

The reason would become clear as the wand suddenly became a sword. "I know what you are thinking Mr. Potter. I know about the movies, books, comics, and mockery my name has become over the millennia. I promise you that I will once again rule, and I will not be as kind as Voldemort. You and I will face each other again, but before I leave, how about a parting gift?"

With that he lunged forward. For all the vampire's speed, Harry was at his prime and had managed to match the prince blow for blow. Soon cuts were all over Harry and his blade was shining in Darmien's green blood, though his injuries were repairing themselves before Harry's eyes. Just as he was about to portkey away, Darmien made a sweeping gesture with his feet and forced Harry to jump. As he did, the vampire was able to grab his portkey from his neck and crumbled the object in his hand. Where a guitar pick had once been was now only a pile of ash. With a sinister laugh, Darmien disappeared, leaving Harry facing a hundred plus Death Eaters alone. If only he could apperate, but he knew it was out of the equation. The amount of wards that had been set up around here before the battle made it impossible for anyone to apperate until Hogsmead. _If only I could get away!_

Then Harry saw it, his salvation. Quality Quiditch was still standing, and he was right next to it. He concentrated on bringing a Firebolt to him and in the next moment he was kicking off the ground and into the air. Furious cries were heard underneath him and Harry was soon being pursued on his second flight to Hogwarts.

When Ginny had first arrived at Hogwarts she felt like she was back home and safe. Unfortunately, she could now see the thestrals after witnessing Bellatrix's death.

The first thing she had noticed upon entering the Great Hall was the absence of quite a few professors, but in their places were many faces she hadn't recognized. In fact, they were so many strange adults here that another table had been added to the hall, and the banner of a phoenix and griffin was hanging over it.

The Order of the Phoenix. She immediately spotted her father, Bill, Charlie, Fred, and George at the table and went to sit down. Before she could however, two sets of hands had grabbed her and were gently pulling her towards the Gryffindor table.

"Come on, Ginny, I want to see them too, but we can't make a scene out of this. Remember, we have to act like we don't know anything happened?" Ron also wanted to find out what was happening and why the Order was suddenly here, missing quite a few people.

Hermione wrapped an arm around Ginny a sat next her, Ron on his girlfriend's other side. "Ginny, I'm sure Dumbledore will explain everything to us. Or at least _us_ and if he doesn't, Harry will be fine just like always."

Ron pointed excitedly, "Look! There he is now," and true enough Headmaster Dumbledore strode into the Great Hall.

His arm was in a sling and his nose was bandaged, but he still looked like Dumbledore. Behind him were the first years and behind them even more professors and Order members who were supporting various injuries. The adults made their way up towards the Staff/Order/Griffin table and sat down, while Minerva had stopped to place the sorting hat and stool in front of the first years.

The hat opened its rim and began to sing its yearly song.

(AN: I'm going to skip the song because I don't think I would be able to justice to the hat. Sorry but if you would like to make a song up and email it to mean, I may consider adding it to this chapter in the future.)  
The Great Hall erupted into applause and a few murmurs were heard talking about the song. They all abruptly stopped as, "Albeito, Eithen" was sorted into Ravenclaw. After a about ten to twenty minutes the sorting was finished with "Zacramatis, Tom" being sorted into Hufflepuff. There was a surprisingly low number of Gryffindors as well as Slytherins this year and the older students took note of this.

Professor Dumbledore then rose from his chair and addressed the Hall. "Most of you must be wondering why there are so many 'teachers' here this year. The answer is complicated but please be patient. Today Lord Voldemort," the student body all flinched, "lead an attack today against Diagon Alley. We were prepared for him but his numbers appeared to be much greater than expected. Also, there was an implication involving Darmien the Half-Blood Prince, the first vampire and the only one able to do magic. He is not on any side but he saw us as the greater overall threat and decided to try to finish us off. Thanks to emergency portkeys, we only lost ten people out of a hundred who stayed to fight. Two men are unaccounted for. The first is Remus Lupin who will be returning as our defense professor this year-"

He was cut off by a voice saying, "-Well, Albus, I never thought I would see the day you were wrong. Only one person his unaccounted for, and I am alive and kicking!" a smiling Remus made his way up to the table. "Harry and I managed to get all thirty vampires but I had to leave when the Death Eaters turned to me. The last I saw, he was still battling Darmien and was actually scoring quite a number of hits."

"Please save this for later, Remus. The other unaccounted person is Harry Potter, who was still fighting strong. I will take this time to warn no one to pick a fight with him when he returns for he will be in an extremely bad mood. Now, onto regular announcements! The Forbidden Forest is as its name suggests and…"

As this was going on Harry was busy trying to get to Hogwarts. He had been following the train tracks that the Hogwarts Express took and was dodging the Death Eaters best he could. As it was, the shield lying across his back was deflecting most curses and the sword was in its sheath. Harry was going for all out speed right now and he hoped he would make it before he had to have a dog fight in the air.

Feinting left than going right Harry managed to avoid a purple spell. As he looked back up, he finally saw it destination. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry loomed in the distance. Directly underneath his was Hogsmead. Feeling the Death Eaters desperation increase to catch him, Harry urged his broom faster. Going in a straight line, Harry passed onto the Hogwarts grounds. The Death Eaters were still behind him and in his need for speed one of them managed to get a direct hit on his broom.

Harry flew forward off his broom. He knew that he could control the weather but he just wasn't practiced enough in that field. Wishing he had worked harder to learn to become an animagus, preferably a flying one, and to practice his elemental magic Harry continued to plummet. He was always lucky during Quiditch, but he had to remind himself this wasn't a sport. He also had to remind himself that could only die at Voldemort's hand.

And with that he hit the ground from a hundred meter fall and caused a mighty crash.

Inside the school, Dumbledore had just asked everyone to head to bed. Just as the prefects were getting up to lead the students an all mighty crash was heard from outside. Immediately the Order and the DA Harry had trained all had their wands out. Dumbledore told everyone to stay where they were and he rushed outside to see what was happening. What he saw made his heart stop.

Back in the Great Hall, Hermione performed a spell that allowed the people to see what was happening through the wall. It was amazing. Rising from a crater ten feet by ten feet, Harry was slowly standing up on wobbling feet. The Death Eaters immediately landed and had encircled him; there were a total of ten.

What Harry did next surprised most students who hadn't seen the new Harry. He pulled the shield off his back and drew Gryffindor's sword. He then shot five stunners, a reducto curse, and had launched himself at the nearest Death Eater. The observers were amazed he had managed to take down six Death Eaters in less than a second. They were even more amazed at what he did next.

He screamed. It was a primal roar of rage, and with it the weather changed. The Death Eaters were beginning to look scared as Harry slowly advanced towards them, oblivious to everything except the people who caused Harry continual pain.

"That stung like a bitch and this will too," he snarled, hurling a fireball curse at the closest opponent. He immediately started screaming while Harry ignored him. He put the shield away and drew his dragon heartstring wand. "Did you know that these two items double the power I put into any spell?" Harry asked the remaining three.

Without waiting for an answer Harry fired three curses, all red. At the same time he shot another three curses, these were blue. The combined effect was to make the Death Eaters stunned and trapped in ropes. Harry then proceeded to the smallest man who had managed to get the fire out and was just lying on the ground whimpering. "Wormtail, so nice of you to join me and Remus. I missed the feast because of and I'm quite hungry for rat stew at the moment."

Harry looked like he wanted to kill the traitor then and there. Yet he knew that if he did, Sirius's name may never be cleared. He settled instead to cut off his left hand, the one made of silver that his nemesis had given the rat. "You're lucky I'm not Voldemort, Wormtail, or else that would have been your head." He finished up the job and binded Pettigrew.

As he turned he realized he had an audience. Dumbledore was the first to react, "Get them to our secure location immediately, yet leave the man without a hand here. We need to question him and set an innocent man's name free." Approaching Harry while the Order moved off, he asked Harry, "Harry, I'm glad to see you, but I'm wondering what made you not use the portkey? And what you were doing?"

Nodding his head while holding his hand around his talismans, Harry told him that he wanted Darmien's blood in order to try something that should eliminate everything vampire in existence. He then told him how the portkey was destroyed and that Darmien's blood had vanished once he left Diagon Alley. Clasping a hand on his forehead, Harry said, "Voldemort's also dammed happy. I don't mean to be rude, but can I leave now? I feel like I fell from a hundred feet, oh yea, I did. Good night, Albus."

Harry then walked into the castle and as everyone turned to watch his progress, Dumbledore was smiling at their reactions, noticing the spell Hermione had cast. "Very good magic, Mrs. Granger, 10 points for Gryffindor. Now, off to bed. Also, I did warn you not to get on Mr. Potter's bad side, that was only a miniscule fraction of the amount of enemies he had handled today, so please do not give him reason to want to hurt you." He said the last bit looking directly at Draco Malfoy, who gulped and looked away. "Now, come on, off to bed!"


	9. Aftermath

Author Notes: Sorry this chapter is so short, I've been extremely busy for a school report and thought I better update. I'll try and get a longer chapter out very soon.

**Chapter 9: Aftermath**

In all reality, Harry had just put up a huge show. He was still bleeding from his many cuts and injuries. As it was his entire right side was killing him, he could barely move his right arm. The fall from the broom had hurt him like hell and the fight had damaged his body in more than one ways. He knew that the students needed to see a light in all the dark and hope within the encompassing blackness. Unfortunately, he knew he was that hope, that lighthouse next to the beach. He didn't like it, but he would live with it.

After escaping the main halls and turning into a barely known shortcut, Harry finally took a rest. He knew he should go to Madame Pomfry, he was in serious need of medical help after all. The thought of being the light in the dark and the symbol of hope to all the students kept Harry from going to the school nurse. He couldn't afford to show any weakness at this point. Besides, if Voldemort's spies reported that Harry Potter fell off his broom, got in a huge fight, and was perfectly fine than Harry was sure to scare his enemy and possibly by the wizarding world more time.

No matter what, Harry knew that he needed help. He thought of the training he and his friends had had during the summer. He remembered how Ginny had shown an immense talent in the healing department. He then realized that he could use his connection with Ginny to call for help.

_Ginny, _Harry thought. _Help. Tapestry behind the old elf dancing with the troll. _

_Coming, Harry. _At the silent sound of Ginny's thought, Harry let out a sigh of relief. _ I'll be there in five minutes. Let me just finish leading the first years, then I'll grab the Marauders Map. _

_Wait, Gin, I gave Ron the map. Check his trunk. _Harry replied. Resigning to the fact that it may take his girlfriend longer than he had hoped, Harry started to get comfortable in the passage. It was actually a good position he found with his bruised back resting on the cold wall. Just as he started to close his eyes, Ginny appeared in the entrance.

"Harry, thank god you're all right! I know what you told everyone was a load of lies, but I also know why you said it. Now if you ever do anything like that again I will make sure Voldemort and this 'Half-Blood Prince' are the last of your worries!"

"Gin, I know what happened to me is pretty bad, but could you at least try and heal me before you kill me. I feel like I hit the Hogwarts express," moaned the prone figure of Harry from the floor.

It was then that Ginerva Weasely finally got a good look at Harry Potter. Her reaction was to let out a quick squeal and rush to his side. "Come on, Harry, we have to get you healed." Harry started to protest but Ginny broke in, "I don't mean the Hospital Wing. I can probably heal the majority of these and send Madame Pomfry in at an inconspicuous time, but I need to get you to a place suitable for the type of things I'm going to have to do. Unless you'd like to get half naked in here and give anyone the chance to attack you while you are feeling like crap?"

"Good point, love, you win. Let's get to the Room of Requirement. It should be able to make whatever room we need." And so the couple set off for the Room of Requirement. They were able to avoid any contact with people they wished to avoid by use of the Marauders' Map and within fifteen minutes were standing outside their destination. Ginny was busy pacing back and forth waiting for the door to materialize and Harry was trying to remain upright. After what seemed like hours to an exhausted Harry, the door came into being and Ginny helped him into it.

Inside the room, the two saw what seemed to be a very comfortable hospital room. One wall filled with every known potion for healing, antidotes included. Looking to the left you could see all imaginable items made that could be used to help someone move around; from wheelchairs and crutches all the way to magical eyes and appendages. Then there was the wall behind the bed which consisted of about a hundred books all revolving around healing. The last object in the room was a bed that looked very sterile and firm. It was colorful, though, and managed to make Harry smile thinking how better it is than the beds in the Hospital Wing. Around the bed was an L shaped couch that could sit about five visitors at a time.

"This is definitely better than the Hospital Wing, Gin."

"Well, if you don't hurry up and let me heal you than you will need to go to the Hospital Wing regardless of my skills! Now sit and let me get to work!" Ginny proceeded to make Harry take off all his clothing except his boxers and talismans. Even his griffin earring had to go, it had appeared to make a huge raw area on his ear from the extensive use it was put through.

As Ginny did her work and methodically worked her way up her patient's body healing his wounds, Harry did his very best to just stay awake. If it wasn't the occasional pain made by the healing spells, he was sure to have fallen asleep an hour ago. At long last Ginny was done with healing all the injuries, though his right side still hurt.

"Now I know I'm about to sound very much like an annoying nurse but what I am about to say you better listen to. First of all, you better keep a lot of pressure off your right arm. Second, you need to take these potions once a day for a week to get you into tip-top shape. As a matter of fact, if what I read over the summer is true, than some of these will actually increase your overall magical power by half of what it currently is while another one will make you get an increase in muscle mass, making you even more appealing to me than you are. Thirdly, you are no longer my patient and after you just saved a ton of lives, I am going to treat you like the hero you are."

With that said Ginny threw herself at Harry giving him a passionate kiss. When they came up for breath Harry collapsed on the bed from exhaustion. Smiling to herself while muttering something about no one in their right mind would have stopped after one kiss, Ginny undressed into pajamas the room supplied and climbed into bed with her boyfriend. _He's a hero, he's famous, he's hot, and he's modest. Best of all, he's in love with me. _With that last thought, she joined the person next to her in a deep sleep.


	10. Ginny's Job

**Chapter 10: Ginny's Job**

When he awoke next, Harry was still extremely tired. All he wanted to do was sleep off the last day. Groaning, he turned onto his side only to exhale quickly as he felt a burst of pain.

"You might want to stay off that side, hon. It still has a long while before it fully recovers from yesterday." Hearing Ginny's soft voice made Harry's head even heavier and after he received a quick kiss on the forehead and heard an "I'll tell Dumbledore", he was asleep.

As Ginny left the Room of Requirement, she started to think of how her life had become the way it was. It amazed her that only a month ago she and Harry had started to get close. In just a few weeks of spending her days with him, she had grown closer to the boy-who-lived than she was to half her brothers. In all reality, Ginny didn't know how it happened so fast. _I guess between training together, going on dates and walks tens of times, having only each other to talk to for weeks, and sharing a bed makes two people become pretty comfortable with one another. I'll have to talk to McGonagall about that,_ Ginny thought.

For some reason, whenever they slept in the same bed, the couple never had bad nightmares. They both would receive them as a result from actions of Tom Marvolo Riddle, yet they had reduced in strength and frequency when they were together. She wasn't too keen on the idea of giving up that comfort.

By the time Ginerva Weasely got to the Great Hall, the mail was arriving. A large majority of students were seen getting the Daily Prophet while a lone Neville Longbottom could be named 'the boy to receive forgotten home possessions'. Spotting Ron and Hermione at the Gryffindor Table, Ginny made her way towards breakfast.

"Ginny!" Hermione shouted as soon as her friend took a seat at the table. After a quick hug and hello, Hermione turned her attention back to Ron. They were in the middle of a discussion, without arguing mind you, when Ginny felt eyes on her. Looking up, she saw the Headmaster was looking in her direction.

_Well, I wanted to talk to him anyway, _Ginny thought while nodding her head for Dumbledore to see. Ginny then bid her brother and his girl friend good-bye. Having barely been to the Headmaster's Office, it took her longer than she had expected; it was a big school.

When she finally got to the stone gargoyle guarding the office, Ginny realized she didn't have a clue as to what the password was. Luckily, Severus Snape was on his way out. They passed each other on the stairs, Ginny trying to avoid looking at Snape who was sneering down his crooked nose at her. Just as she thought she was clear, the potion master's mocking voice spoke.

"I see you can do something on your own. After not returning to your dorm last night, we would be left believing something is going on with you and _Potter_," Snape all but spat the last word; the name of her boyfriend.

By the red tint on Ginny Weasely's face, anyone who saw her could tell that was the wrong thing to say. "For you information, _Professor,_ what I choose to do is my own business. But, yes, Harry and I are a couple and I was caring for his injuries last night in the Room of Requirement."

"Why, Potter seems to be rubbing off on you. Such a tone for an educator at a school. I believe that will be twenty points from Gryffindor." Before a reply could be made, Snape turned and swept down the stairs and out the stone gargoyle. When Ginny finally arrived at the door to Dumbledore's office, she had managed to get her temper down to a much more manageable level.

"Come in, Miss Weasely."

_Somehow that man always knows who is at the door. Wonder how? _When Ginny first entered, she was surprised at how the Headmaster still looked so strong. Albus Dumbledore seemed to look like a rock of hope and power, an everlasting warrior of the light. Then Ginny closed the office door. The man that suddenly looked flawless now looked totally different. An old man with a crooked nose from being broken so many times sat there. A man with his arm in a sling and many lines on his face sat at his desk. Albus Dumbledore went from a flawless wizard to a fragile old man, all in the time of two seconds it took to close a door.

Recovering from her initial shock, Ginny stated. "Um, Professor, I have a few questions and one or two requests."

Albus actually chuckled, "No need to be so nervous, Miss Weasely. As a matter of fact, I have a few questions of my own. However, why don't we let you start us off?"

Taking a deep breath, Ginny began, "Well, I'm not sure you know, but during the summer Harry and I became a couple. I ended up staying at his house for the end of break. Anyway, there wasn't a lot of space in Harry's room and the Durselys were hardly accommodating. We ended up having to share a bed. I promise we didn't do anything we shouldn't have, but for some reason, being in physical contact with each other kept both of our nightmares at bay. Oh yeah, we're also becoming adept at talking through our minds. Not a problem I hope?"

Ginny said all this very fast and as she talked, a blush slowly made its way up her face. Both reactions lead Dumbledore to chuckle. "Please calm down, Ginerva. I do not plan on reprimanding you or your boyfriend. In fact, I believe you are gong to be a great help for Harry. I trust you know the prophecy?" At the nod of Ginny's head the wizened man continued, "Well, I am under the presumption that _love_ is Harry's 'power the Dark Lord knows not'. Unfortunately, Harry has no recollection of being loved and truly loving someone else. With your help, he might be able to develop that power quicker, if it is indeed the ability the prophecy speaks of."

Ginny's expression was one of a startled person hearing that they just got the job of their dreams.

Seeing her look, the Headmaster let out a laugh for the third time that day. "I imagine you will enjoy the job and I will permit you and Harry to share a room. However, I must get your parents' permission and a wizard's oath that you will refrain from any unsavory behavior."

"I'm sorry, Professor Dumbledore, but I just can't give you a wizard's oath." Noticing Dumbledore's surprised look, Ginny couldn't help but smile. "I can give you a witch's oath though. I thought that since you knew Harry liked girls and he liked me, you would have realized that I am a female and therefore a witch, not a male being a wizard."

Albus Dumbledore just smiled right back. "I see Harry has chosen a very excellent companion. You will find a room at the top of the Gryffindor Tower. Normally it is reserved for the Head Boy or Head Girl, but neither is from your house this year and shouldn't be a problem. It is a password protected room, but will automatically open for Harry, the Heir of Gryffindor. Once you two decide on a password you just need to tell the door and it will initiate the password protection policy."

"Thank you very much, sir," relief evident in her voice.

"You are quite welcome; although I am afraid I have some bad news as well. This will be quite a shock to Harry and I believe he will need much help after he is told."

As she stared at the old wizard before her, Ginny couldn't help but wonder what horrible act had happened. Diagon Alley was just yesterday, did Voldemort already begin another assault? "You see, Miss Weasely, that yesterday's battle was much more gruesome than you have heard. As a matter of fact, I suggest you look at the _Evening Prophet _tonight. Voldemort had someone snapping wizarding photos from the very beginning of the fight all the way until he got out of the alley. The _Prophet_ was sent a copy and has put the pieces together in order to express in image what words could not.

It actually will take several hours to watch the battle in its entirety, yet it will take up several pages of the paper; each a half hour long. Back to the reason I brought this up. Harry, myself, and the Order of the Phoenix were very busy fighting yesterday. Pretty much every capable fighter was there. During the middle of the battle, Voldemort himself paid a visit." After noticing Ginny's scared expression, he rushed to comfort her with his words. "No, Ginny, he paid a visit to Harry Potter's relatives. He killed the Durselys and blew up many homes. Here is a photo taken by the muggle authorities while surveying the scene from above."

Dumbledore handed over a photo. Ginny let out a gasp as she looked at the picture. She could tell by the identical roofs that this was where Harry had grown up. The sad thing was to see an uncountable number of houses seemingly on fire. From the aerial shot, she could tell the flames held a message. It became clear to her that Voldemort was truly and fully evil. After all, who would right 'BOW TO DEATH HARRY' by setting innocent, defenseless people to their deaths?

"Unfortunately Voldemort sent a picture of this to the papers as well. You have your work cut out for you, Miss Weasely. If you need any help, please do not hesitate to ask for it."

Ginerva Weasely could only nod. She quietly stood from her chair and was about to leave the Headmaster's Office when Dumbledore spoke once again, "Oh, and Ginerva. Twenty points to Gryffindor for a job well done in taking care of Harry." With that said, Ginny left the room. Harry was not going to be happy about this news. It was entirely too clear that the only reason those particular people died was to send a message like none other, a message for him.

_Well, I normally would jump at the chance to teach Harry Potter what the meaning of love is. After he hears this, well I might need to bring in some enforcements. _As Ginny finished making her way to the Room of Requirement and her patient, she knew that she had more work cut out for her than Madame Pomfry. _It's going to be a long night._


	11. Healing and Letters

**Chapter 11: Healing**

When he awoke next, Harry was still extremely tired. All he wanted to do was sleep off the last day. Groaning he turned onto his side only to exhale quickly as he felt a burst of pain.

"You might want to stay off that side, hun. It still has a long while before it fully recovers from yesterday." Hearing Ginny's soft voice made Harry's head even heavier and after he received a quick kiss on the forehead and heard, "I'll tell Dumbledore", he was asleep.

As Ginny left the Room of Requirement she started to think of how her life had become the way it was. It amazed her that only a month ago she and Harry had started to get close. In just a few weeks of spending her days with him, she had grown closer to the Boy-Who-Lived than she was to half her brothers. In all reality, Ginny didn't know how it happened. _I guess between training together, going on dates and walks every chance they had, having only each other to talk to for four weeks, and sharing a bed makes two people become pretty comfortable with one another. I'll have to talk to McGonagall about that. _

For some reason, whenever Harry and she slept in the same bed, the couple never had nightmares. They both would receive them as a result from Voldemort's past actions (well in Harry's case link too), yet they reduced in strength and time when they were together. She wasn't too keen on the idea of giving up that comfort.

By the time Ginerva Weasely got to the Great Hall the mail was arriving. A large majority of students were seen getting the daily Prophet while a lone Neville Longottom could be named 'the boy to receive forgotten home possessions." Ginny spotted Ron and Hermione at the Gryffindor table and made her way towards food.

"Ginny!" Hermione shouted as soon as her friend took a seat at the table. After a quick hello hug Hermione turned her attention back to Ron. They were in the middle of a discussion, without raised voices, when Ginny felt eyes on her. Looking up, she saw the Headmaster was looking in her direction.

_Well I wanted to talk to him anyway," she thought._ Nodding her head for Dumbledore to see, Ginny than bid her brother and best friend good-bye. Having barely been to the Headmaster's Office, it took her loner than she expected to arrive; it was a big school after all. When she finally got to the statue, Ginny realized that she didn't know the password to get past the gargoyle. Luckily Severous Snape was on his way out. They passed each other on the stairs, Ginny trying to avoid looking and Snape sneering. Just as Ginny thought she was clear, Snape's mocking voice spoke.

"I see you can do something on your own. After not returning to your dorm last night we would be left to believe something is going on with you and Potter," Snape all but spat the last word.

By the red tint on Ginerva Weasely's face, anyone who saw her could tell that was the wrong thing to say. "For your information, _Professor,_ what I choose to do is my own business. But yes, Harry and I are a couple and I was caring for his injuries last night in the Room of Requirement."

"Why, Potter seems to be rubbing off on you. Such a tone for an educator at school. I believe that will be twenty points from Gryffindor." Before a reply could be made, the potion master turned and swept down the staircase and out the entrance. When Ginny finally arrived at the door to Dumbledore's Office, her temper was down to a more manageable level.

"Come in, Ms. Weasely," the Headmaster called. When Ginny first entered she was surprised at how the Headmaster still looked so strong. Albus Dumbledore seemed to look like a rock of hope and power, an everlasting warrior of the light. Then Ginny closed the office door. The man that appeared so flawless suddenly looked like an old man. An old man with a crooked nose from being broken so many times and an old man with his arm in a sling. Many lines covered his aged face. Albus Brian Percival Dumbledorewent from flawless to fragile, all in two seconds time.

Recovering from her initial shock, Ginny started, "Umm, Professor, I have a few questions and requests."

Albus chuckled, "No need to be so nervous, my dear. As a matter of fact, I have a few questions of my own. However, why don't you start us out?"

"Well, I'm not sure you know, but during the summer Harry and I became a couple. I ended up staying at his house for the end of break. Anyway, there wasn't a lot of space in Harry's room and the Dursleys weren't very accommodating; we ended up sharing a bed. I promise we didn't do anything we shouldn't have, but for some reason being in contact with each other have kept bout our nightmares at ay. Oh yea, we're also becoming adapt at talking to each other through our minds."

Ginny said all that very fast and as she talked, a blush slowly made its way up her face. Both actions made Dumbledore chuckle. "Please calm down Miss Weasely. I do not plan on reprimanding you or your boyfriend. In fact, I believe you are going to be a great help for Harry. I trust you know the prophecy?" At Ginny's nod, the wizened Headmaster continued, "I am under the presumption that love is Harry's special ability. He has no recollection of being loved. With you help, he might be able to develop that power quicker and stronger than he would if he only had friends."

Ginny's expression was one of a startled person hearing that they just go the job of their dreams.

Seeing the look, the professor let out yet another laugh. "I imagine you'll enjoy the job and I will permit you and Harry to share a room. However, I must get you parent's permission and a wizard's oath that you will reform from any unsavory behavior."

"I'm sorry, Professor Dumbledore, I just can't give you a wizard's oath." Seeing Dumbledore's surprised face Ginny let a smile play across her features. "I can give you a witch's oath, however."

Dumbledore smiled right back. "I see Harry has chosen a very good companion. You will find a room at the top of the Gryffindor Tower. Normally it is reserved for the Head Boy, but he his not from your house this year and won't be a problem. IT is a password protected door, but will automatically open for Harry, the heir of Gryffindor. Once you two decide on a password you just need to tell the door."  
"Thank you very much, Professor," relief a strong emotion flowing through her voice.

"You are quite welcome, although I'm afraid I have some bad news as well. This will be quite a shock to Harry and I believe you should tell him alone."

As she stared at the old wizard before her, Ginny couldn't help but wonder what so horrible had happened. "You see, Miss Weasely, that yesterday's battle was much more gruesome then you have heard. As a matter of fact, I suggest you look at the Evening Prophet tonight. Voldemort had someone capture wizarding pictures from the very beginning all the way to when Harry left. The Prophet was sent a copy and has put the pieces together in order to express in image what words cannot.

It actually will take several hours to watch in its entirety, yet it will take up several pages of the paper; each a half hour long. Back to the reason I stated to say this; Harry, myself, and the Order were very busy. During the middle of the battle, Voldemort himself visited Harry's relations. He killed them and proceeded to blow up many homes. Here is a photo taken by the muggle authorities while surveying the scene from above."

Dumbledore handed over a photo. Ginny let out a gasp as she looked at the picture. She could tell by the identical roofs that this was where Harry grew up. The sad thing was to see an uncountable number of houses were on fire. From the aerial shot she could tell the flames held a message: BOW TO DEATH HARRY.

"Unfortunately, Voldemort sent a picture of this to the papers as well. You have your work cut out for you, Ginny."

Ginerva Weasely could only not. She quietly stood from her chair and left the Headmaster's presence after a quick farewell. Earlier on she would have said teaching Harry to love wouldn't have been too hard for _her_. Now she knew that she really did have her work cut out for her.

Inside the Room of Requirement, a lone man lay. He was busy trying to sit up on the 'hospital bed' without groaning. He had no such luck.

"Ow! That hurt like a Horntail!" Harry wasn't sure what hurt anymore. He was complaining about his entire right side, it felt like a huge bruise. Sure Harry could move, but it stung with every single twitch. Then there was his back. Luckily Ginny got to it before any long-term injury could set in. If he looked in a mirror though, he would still see a ground like handprint all over his backside.

His last pain came from his head. He had a headache the size of Uncle Vernon. Anyone who knew his uncle knew that meant it was huge! Normally the head pain would be caused by his scar, yet at the moment Voldemort and Harry both seemed to be trying to keep their link shut. No, at the moment Harry felt a little disoriented and his head pounding. _If only I had something to take away the pain. _

To his pleasant surprise, a potion bottle appeared right in his lap. With a quick 'bottom's up!' to the room, the potion was gone. Happy to feel most of the pain residing, Harry bravely tried to get off his bed. "When you gotta go, you gotta go," he muttered. After a quick trip to the loo, which conveniently showed the right side of his face in purple bruises, Harry changed into a muggle outfit that the Room of Requirement provided. It was a plain red t-shirt and black jeans. _So glad I don't have to bother with glasses anymore. _

Just then the door opened. Harry had his hand on the sword of Gryffindor, which he just finished putting on through his belt hoop, and was facing the door in a defensive position.

"Whoa, honey. You're really jumpy, you know that?" Ginny was calmly standing in the doorway, not at all surprised by his welcoming look.

"Having a Dark Lord try and kill you for sixteen years doest that to a person." It was only a mutter, yet the redhead heard it all the same.

"Well, you've got more than that to worry about now." Receiving a quizzical look from her boyfriend, Ginny elaborated. "You forgot to mention the fact that a vampire named Darmien is out to destroy us **and** Voldemort."

Smiling slightly, Harry replied, "And you forgot Darmien is able too do magic and is excellent with a sword."

"By your tone, I take it you're doing better. It's amazing how fast you healed! Even with magic you shouldn't e up and about until Tuesday."

"You forget, Gin, that only Voldemort can kill me, at least while we're both among the living. I guess I need to be able to heal faster than magically normal if I'm not supposed to die. Harry gave a long sigh and sat down on his bed. He was tired of always being special. He knew he had a job to do, he was determined to do it, but it could just be so much some times.

"I know what you're thinking, Harry. You have a right to be tired of everything."

"I just want a vacation. You know, maybe go to the beach or Disney World. It would be nice to take a couple weeks off and just be lazy with my best friends and girlfriend."

Ginny knew Harry wasn't in the best mental condition right now. She also knew that her boyfriend would keep going on and on. Plus he would definitely want to know about his relatives soon as she had found out.

"Harry, hun, your relatives are dead."

That shut him up real fast. Just two seconds ago he looked tired and was talking just to keep himself busy. Now he looked lost. Ginny had seen many different expressions on Harry's face; from sadness to anger to determination to indifference, all else in between as well. This was a face that appeared to have an alien look on him; it wasn't her Harry that she saw.

"How do you know?" The question was so quiet and calmly voiced.

"Dumbledore told me. It happened during the Diagon Alley attack. He gave me a copy of the paper that had a report on the both attacks. They're pretty accurate for a change." She handed him the paper and sat waiting to see his reaction.

As Harry read he kept an impassionate look on his face. Deep down, he was very upset and extremely angry. He couldn't believe Voldemort would sink so low. Attacking so many helpless people, including his last blood family, was just wrong. BOW TO DEATH HARRY. _That wouldn't happen. _If anything, Harry was going to wreck mass havoc ion Voldemort than before. "Ginny, he did this to toy with me. He wants to make me do something foolish or at least lose my confidence."

"Are you going to do something rash? Are you losing confidence?" The concern and fear in Ginny's voice was evident, it made him smile.

"No, Gin, I'm not going to. But I am going to go have a chat with Dumbledore." Harry was just about to walk out the door when he felt a small hand on his back.

"Can't this wait 'till after dinner? You aren't fully healed and you should get time to relax too."

Harry wanted nothing more than to scream at her about how a war was going on in the world. Somehow he was able to control his rage long enough to get out a few sentences. "Ginny, this is war. I'm the weapon and there are now two separate enemies, not including the incompetent Ministry. I will get hurt, I will get knocked down, and I will get bloody. Hell, I probably will die. We don't have the luxury to wait for me to heal." With that said, Harry walked out of the room, leaving a teary eyed girlfriend behind.

Harry knew what he had to do. He needed to train harder, faster, and more lethally. He already had his mind set on what needed to be done. The Death Eaters needed to meet their match. It was about 11:30 by this time and he really wanted to talk to the Headmaster. Figuring this was where Ginny came from, Harry headed to the Headmaster's Office.

After taking several concealed corridors, the Boy-Who-Lived was standing outside Dumbledore's gargoyle. Harry didn't know the password so he took a chance, "By Godric Gryffindor's heir, I command you to move!" Realizing he didn't know the password, the gargoyle started to laugh. Harry was really getting angry now.

At the suppressed anger, the stone stature only laughed harder, "Prove it!" he said between chuckles.

Harry was done playing games! _There's a war going on, darn it!_ Harry decided to dispense of the formalities and drew his sword. As soon as the statue saw the blade he leapt out of the way. "My sincere apologies heir of Gryffindor."

"Well that was weird," was the only response as Harry walked onto the rotating staircase. As he entered, Harry noticed all of the previously destroyed items repaired and a note on the desk.

_Harry, if you have found your way up here than I am sorry to tell you I have been called away on business at the Ministry. No one knows I have left except the Unspeakables and now you. Please do not spread the word around and leave either a note or visit again tomorrow. _

Finished reading, Harry sat in the Headmaster's chair to write a letter. _It really is quite a comfy seat,_ was the ending to the letter.


End file.
